Is it time to make egg farmers our heroes and properly promote their work? The idea may not be new, but the COVID-19 pandemic may have given us the opportunity for greater recognition from consumers.
Pandemic or not, farmers have always been the silent, front-line workers, looking after their animals and crops and ensuring that roughly 3% of the population provides safe and nutritious food to the 97% disconnected from agriculture.
The pandemic has, however, made life that little bit harder for farmers, who have to ensure that the feed and other inputs arrive on time, workers can come to their daily shift and eggs can be delivered smoothly ensuring that stores and markets do not have empty shelves.
Egg farms are, after all, not factories, but small, family enterprises where multiple generations often work together, and the sector has sought to remind consumers of this.
Egg packaging materials, for example, in Korea and France, often carry a picture of the farmer or farming family managing the farm where the eggs were produced.
This human touch underpinning egg production may be worth additional attention in egg promotion now as many consumers have taken on new lifestyles and adopted new values over the last 18 months
Additionally, placing images of farmers on egg cartons can help to respond to the demand for local produce, which is currently particularly in favor with consumers.
Recognizing effort
Along with putting farmers center stage as the source of our food, testing the willingness of consumers to pay a fair price for producers’ labor may be worth visiting.
A few years ago, La marque du consommateur – or consumers’ brand – was launched in France. It allowed consumers to agree on a number of parameters linked to egg production, including a fair return for the producer. Similarly, in Chile, Ecoterra has created a brand of eggs where the well-being of hens, respect for the environment and a fair return for small producers are all emphasized in its product positioning.
The new consumer social conscience should respond well to these approaches, and now may well be the time to promote farmers as the foundation of our food supply and well-being.
