To trust or not to trust? Trust landscape of organic animal husbandry: Mapping consumer attitudes and information demands in Germany

A mainly positive attitude of consumers towards organic animal husbandry with its higher keeping standards compared to the legal regulations is evident. However, less is known about consumers’ detailed expectations of organic husbandry and in particular their attitude and trust along the value chain of organic animal products. Which consumers trust the most, and how do they want to be informed about organic animal husbandry? Where along the chain are trust deficits that should be addressed in the future to support sustainable food consumption with high animal welfare standards? To answer these important questions a survey was conducted among 729 German meat consumers. Using a cluster analysis, various consumer groups were identified based on their trust levels. Further, these groups were characterized regarding their general attitude, their information behavior, their evaluation of current media reporting, and their preferred way to be informed (emotional/rational) about organic animal products. The results revealed three clusters that clearly differ in their trust level of organic husbandry. Respondents assigned to the first cluster are committed organic consumers with high trust and the most positive attitude. The second cluster, combines respondents who are generally open to organic meat consumption and showing the second highest trust level and positive attitude towards organic. They show a slight favor for a more rational presentation of information. The third cluster is the smallest and can be described as the skeptics with a low interest in organic. The results indicate a general moderate to high trust level along the value chain of organic animal products, with the highest trust in organic retailers and farmers and the least trust in processing and conventional retailers. These are important insights for the organic sector in order to improve consumer trust and therewith increase the market share of organic meat products.Author summary: In the discussion surrounding sustainable agriculture and consumption, organic production plays a key role. Especially in terms of high animal welfare standards, organic animal farming takes a pioneering role. To support market-driven transformation to a more sustainable consumption, an understanding of consumers’ attitudes, perspectives, and trust regarding these production systems is essential. Thus, this study identifies trust levels along the production chain of organic animal products and gives insights into the characteristics of different consumer groups regarding their trust in organic husbandry. Three clusters could be identified, with the first two clusters showing moderate to high trust levels along the production chain and a positive attitude towards organic husbandry. We identified scandals, poor product quality, a high expectation–reality gap and, especially for the second and third clusters, too emotional and uncritical reporting about organic husbandry as possible trust barriers. We provide recommendations for increasing trust in a particular animal welfare-friendly husbandry system based on this study.