Consumerism: only the perceived reality is real

摘要

Livestock production today faces the difficult task of effectively meeting emerging consumer concerns while remaining competitive on major target markets. Challenges imposed by consumerism clearly extend beyond the farm gate and equally pertain to chain participants and farm suppliers, with animal feed producers being among the most important ones. In food safety debates, meat issues are clearly at the fore-front. Debates about fat and cholesterol have been ongoing since the late seventies. However, controversies about meat consumption expanded during the nineties, especially in the European Union (EU). Issues included the use of growth hormones in beef production, the use of antibiotic growth promoters, and safety issues such as BSE and dioxins.The latter two were the first large-scale crises in which the animal feed industry was directly involved. Each of the aforementioned crises caused consumers to react sharply and to change their attitudes and behaviour towards meat consumption. The urgentneed for quality assurance schemes to ensure fulfilment of today's consumer demands is clean Additionally, there is an increasing need for information and communication, both with end consumers and between participants within supply chains. In response,governments and chains are currently placing a lot of emphasis on the development of traceability systems and the organisation of more effective information flows. It is clear that this interest is driven from the demand side, with consumers and retailers taking the lead.