Trust in Our Food: Understanding Food Supply Systems

Hi people,

I'm a bit late to start my topic BUT it is never too late to start something (better late or never)

So my topic is about how we can trust on food ? When buying food what matters to you ? What food do you trust more ? etc.

Nowadays people are becoming aware that they need to eat healthy and trust on products they consume because not much people know where the products came from or how they are transformed...

My article explains a research study into consumer trust in food between 2002 and 2004 and showed results:

- The survey was conducted out in 6 European countries like Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal and the UK

- Consumer trust in food was high in the UK, Denmark, Norway and much lower in Portugal and Italy

-Consumers trust more in fresh fruit and vegetables and the meat and fast foods was given of the most concern

- Finally, Consumers put their trust in consumer organisations, food experts compared to representatives of the food industry which is not trusted by a lot of people


However, trust has been shown to be influenced by a range of demographic factors like gender, age, level of education, social background and country residence. Trust is also linked to how people peceive, evaluate and act upon risks. For example, the E. coli vegetable crisis in Germany have increased consumer uncertainty about food risks (here below the link to check this case)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Germany_E._coli_O104:H4_outbreak

To end up with this talk I would like to know:
Do you know where the primary ingredients in your food come from?
How satisfied are you about systems in place within the food system ?

And you free to speak about something else..

Hi Maé,

It was time to stop chilling !

It's actually a good question ! I'm pretty much satisfied about systems in place within the food system. Indeed, in France, I think we are lucky because there is a lot of regulation on the quality of food and about its traceability. In addition, compared to some countries we don't grow GMOs (even if it doesn't mean that we don't eat them).

But it's obvious that less intermediary is added between the producer and the buyer and less food is transformed/prepared better the quality of the product will be.

I think thanks to short circuit or specialized store like Biocoop and sometimes in supermarkets you can know where the primary ingredients in your food come from.
But sometimes it's impossible to know exactly, that's the reason why I'm using the app "YUKA" because thanks of this app I can see the composition of the product and how much it's good for healt !

I hope I have answered your questions,

Have a good night !

Wow Maelys you've changed since I'm not in your class anymore. What is this avatar?  and you are only now starting your lesson?

Ok so when I'm buing food, I check the packaging, firstly "what'is it?", which brand is it?, and I read the nutrionals informations on the back. If it seem too transformed for me, I will never buy it. I avoid sweeteners as much as I can. Secondly I try more and more to cook myself, to be pround of me, to pay attention to my line and my health.

And as I told you it's been two years now that I do not digest well not natural products, too processed. Moreover, my end-of-year dissertation deals with the subject, how do brands make consumers believe that they eat good fresh produce when this is not the case? The packaging controversy and marketing discourse of agri-food brands like Herta/Nestle ...

I regularly consult the foodwatch website and subscribe to the Newletter, it keeps you informed of what is happening in the food industry.

An exemple with the last news from this association (in french sorry):



So, I try to favorise local brand like "En direct des éleveurs". It's a brand which the farmer are paied at the right price. Moreover, it is the farmers themselves who are associated to create their dairy and market themselves their milk in mass distribution without intermediary.

It's hard to know where the food comes from except for a local brand. Other brands often contorn allegations and play on words, we can find snails from Bourgogne come from China, spices that do not come from Morocco ... Industrialists also use the technique of cracking to win money, it consists in transforming an ingredient like a chickpea into different powders which will then be incorporated into different recipes (for the texture, the taste, the color ...) we speaks thus of false food or ultra processed food. Today, we are talking about more and more traceability and blockchain to better identify the origin of our food but it is not yet optimal.

I follow this guy on Instagram, it's a coach with lots of advise about food who compares similars products:

https://www.instagram.com/davfit_coach_sportif/?hl=fr

Like in many subjects I know so very little about food. The producers and marketers are skilled at confusing and hiding information.

Therefore I just hope that the civilised countries in which I live are doing their best to protect me. I realise that they will not always succeed and I accept that.

My eating habits have changed a lot since I was a student and I now eat a wide variety of food and I enjoy eating fruit and vegetables, I still eat meat but a lot less, in fact I eat a lot less food in general which means I can afford to eat a better quality food.

I do, however, still like to eat chocolate and sweet foods.

I feel sorry for the poor and the ill-educated who eat too much of what is not good for them and I am disgusted that our governments allow big business to profit when they should be stopping the abuse that is being caused.

Obesity has become a terrible problem that the government and big businesses have benefitted from.