If farmers want to build trust and confidence with consumers in today’s food system from farm to table they need to be more transparent. That was the message Charlie Arnot with the Center for Food Integrity shared with those attending the Ag United Annual Luncheon yesterday in Sioux Falls. He says the Center’s research indicates this is currently the number one consumer food trend.

Arnot says farmers and the whole food chain can provide more information through traditional and digital media platforms, but also by engaging consumers one-on-one.

He says they took their research one step further by teaming up with food companies to create a transparency index.

Arnot says building trust with consumers is a long process. He says the ag industry needs to realize that changing consumer perceptions involves a 20-year commitment and the results are difficult to measure.