Gen Z and millennial farmers and consumers worldwide are highly aligned in shared concerns about the future of food and farming and want greater influence in deciding how food is raised and sold, revealed a recent survey from Corteva Agriscience.
“Farmers and consumers often are portrayed as two different parties at opposite ends of the global food system. The findings in this study reveal a different picture of young farmers and consumers wanting to meet in the middle and define ways to solve some of biggest issues in the future of farming and food,” Dana Bolden, senior vice president of external affairs and sustainability for Corteva Agriscience, said in a statement.
The study examined views on the future of food and farming by farmers and consumers aged 16-38 in the U.S., Brazil, China and France and was conducted by Kantar, a data, insight and consulting company. At least 100 farmers and 500 consumers were surveyed for each country for a total of 3,000 survey respondents.
Other findings from the survey include:
- 89% of consumers and 73% of farmers are concerned the world will not have enough food to meet nutritional needs by 2040.
- 94% of consumers and 96% of farmers either strongly or somewhat agreed that the future of farmers and consumers is connected. Both groups rated sustainability as the most important issue that needs to be solved.
- 80% or more of farmers and consumers agree that everyone needs to compromise to secure the future of food.
- 90% of consumers and farmers agree that farmers will need to adopt new technologies to face future food and farming issues.
- 94% of consumers and 80% of farmers have opinions about what kind of food should be produced in the future.
“Two of the most important voices in the food system today are those of young farmers and consumers,” said James C. Collins, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Corteva Agriscience.
“They see that the future and ability to thrive are interconnected. Now is the time to empower both farmers and consumers to face the challenges of the future with mutual understanding, appreciation and a willingness to work together to ensure long-term security to both farming and food.”
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