I recently saw an article that said our industry’s messages about trust and transparency aren’t sinking in. While most consumers seem to have some faith in us, there is still 16% that don’t trust meat and poultry producers. While grocery giants Costco and Walmart are attempting to close that transparency gap by entering the protein supply chain in broilers and beef respectively, what can the rest of the traditional meat and poultry industry do?

I’ve heard numerous speakers talk about the distrust in agriculture is due to so many individuals (namely millennials and younger generations) being so far removed from the farm today. But, I don’t even think it’s just that they are far removed in terms of living or knowing someone who has lived on a farm. I think there’s another factor at play – they can’t see it. Remember that adage “seeing is believing.” The fact that you no longer see pigs or chickens on the land was never more evidenced to me than on my recent 1,100-mile drive from Iowa to North Carolina. Sure, I could see cows out grazing, but there were no pigs or chickens in sight, only barns. And to the average consumer who might not know why we brought the animals indoors (improved animal welfare, protection from predators and the elements, etc.), they only see this stark symbol that resembles a factory building.

Creating end-to-end supply chains is a start and is one solution that opens the door of transparency, but what about gaining trust? I’ve seen checkoff organizations work with their members to open their barn doors to dieticians, food influencers and other professionals, but the resources supporting those programs are finite and they are non-continuous. This got me thinking about a continuous “always on” (in advertising speak) strategy. Enter Big Brother.

For those unfamiliar Big Brother is a TV show popularized in the United States in the early 2000s. The premise is that contestants enter a house that they are confined to for several weeks, take part in different competitions, and one contestant ultimately wins a large cash prize. The show is called Big Brother, because “big brother” or all of us at home, can watch the contestants though an online 24-hour live feed. The popularity of the show is driven by the same consumer behaviors that led to the rise and popularity of YouTube – people like to watch other people (doing regular, normal things nonetheless).

What if we were able to apply this same strategy in barns? Why couldn’t we have 24-hour live feeds of chicken coops or pig barns that consumers could tune-in to? Some zoos across the country have already used live feeds to allow customers to join in on welcoming the newest baby animal. I think this same strategy can be used in the meat industry to build consumer trust; we must continue to evolve and develop tactics to build that consumer trust bank up, if we want our industry to continue to grow.

Weigh in below. What do you think? Is it feasible to have set-up a 24hr live feed in a barn?

Big Brother

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