3 ways poultry producers can meet sustainability demands

Sustainability and climate change have become increasingly important factors that influence how consumers make decisions about the foods they buy.

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Sustainability and climate change have become increasingly important factors that influence how consumers make decisions about the foods they buy.

The issue was recently ranked one of the top 2020 food trends by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation, although there is still some confusion about what eating sustainably means. In the company’s 2019 Food and Health Survey, nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents said it is hard to know whether the food choices they make are environmentally sustainable.

In the future, concerns about the role food production plays in climate change will continue to grow and consumers will increasingly look to select products from company’s they can trust, IFIC predicts. What can poultry companies do to meet this demand?

Take a stance with a CSR program

More than ever, it’s important for poultry producers to get involved with corporate social responsibility programs. Modern consumers look for products made by companies that support causes they believe in and match their values.

“Consumers are looking to anyone or anything that can make a difference,” Jenny Zigler, trends analyst on Mintel Food & Drink, explained in a webinar this week. “We think that it's incredibly important for food and drink manufacturers to be a part of this, to take a stance, communicate what they believe in, in terms of corporate social responsibility and established goals.

Facilitate conscious consumption

Conscious consumption is a growing social movement based around increased awareness about how purchasing decisions impact the environment and consumer health.

Finding ways to reduce single use plastic and use eco-friendly packaging could be an easy way for poultry operations to extend an olive branch to consumers seeking conscious consumption. In a recent survey, 72% of Canadian adults agreed that frozen and refrigerated prepackaged meals and sides should have less packaging.

Make planetary health diets easy to follow

The term flexitarian – consumers seeking ways to reduce, but not totally eliminate their meat consumption– became a major buzzword in 2019.

“The idea is to come up with a dietary pattern that will be sustainable from the planetary perspective and also from the health perspective,” Dasha Shor, a Global Food Analyst and Registered Dietician, added during the webinar. “That doesn’t necessarily mean eating meat substitutes. I believe that consumers will embrace the goodness and the health benefits and the environmental benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables and whole grains.”

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