Is it any surprise that after the past few years of outbreaks and recalls, almost no one trusts products from food manufacturers anymore? IBM recently completed a survey of shoppers in the 10 largest cities, and found that a lot of consumers want more information than they currently can get about their food choices.

Some of the results:

• 63 percent of respondents report they have purposefully changed their grocery shopping behavior in the past two years because they wanted better value for their money.
• 7 percent of consumers want more information about the content of the food products they purchase.
• 76 percent would like more information about its origin.
• Almost half have changed shopping behavior to access fresher foods (45 percent) or better quality foods (43 percent).
• 55 percent of respondents trust food manufacturers when handling a recall in the event that a food product is contaminated, indicating a decrease in their level of trust over the past two years.
• 57 percent of consumers report they've stopped purchasing certain foods, even for a short time, within the past two years due to safety considerations.

Why is IBM behind the study? It's part of their "Smarter Planet" campaign (www.asmarterplanet.com), which is a for-profit push to improve aspects of modern society through information technology. CNN notes that the company has spent about $50 billion dollars over the past 5 years doing research and development and buying up companies to help them bring more transparency and efficiency to things like our food supply and transportation networks.

Here's a short cartoon they've created pointing out the stupidity of the current food supply system:

"Less Than 20% of Consumers Trust Food They Buy Is Safe and Healthy, IBM Survey Reveals" [PR Newswire]

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"Smarter Food" [IBM]
www.asmarterplanet.com
"IBM's grand plan to save the planet" [CNN]