Consumer Trust: A Veterinarian’s Role

This article was written by David Friedlander, the Senior Director of Market Research for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

With information so readily available at one’s fingertips, ensuring a trusted source of information from the cattle industry is critical. Animal caretakers may field questions on how animals are raised from many interested groups. Who better to provide unbiased information related to animals than the voice of a veterinarian?

Through the first three months of 2025, fresh meat sales reached an all-time high compared to year ago levels¹. Protein is top of mind as it relates to health and wellness and consumers are looking for help navigating the crowded informational marketplace.

By the end of 2025, over 325 million people are projected to have internet access in the United States² with the majority using a mobile device or smartphone to access it³. News and information are now at the consumers’ fingertips. For a host of reasons, consumer trust among mass media outlets is at an all-time low⁴.

From a veterinarian or farmer/rancher perspective, how does one share information related to production practices? Who is the trusted source of truth among consumers?

Referencing the National Cattlemen’s Beef Associations’ (NCBA) Consumer Beef Tracker, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, both a veterinarian and farmer/rancher rise to the top, above all other sources⁵. In fact, more than 60% of consumers note both a veterinarian and farmer/rancher as the source of truth followed by more than 50% consumers looking to government agencies, specifically, USDA, FDA and CDC.

(Consumer Beef Tracker, NCBA)

When asking respondents about perceptions specifically related to beef, 90% of respondents had a positive or neutral response. Taking this one step further, when asking respondents about the production perception of beef, 80% had a positive or neutral response⁵.

Although overall perceptions related to beef are positive, when asking respondents about their knowledge specifically related to how cattle are raised and grown for food, data show slightly more than 25% of respondents noted either “knowledgeable’ or “very knowledgeable”⁵ about how cattle are raised and grown for food.

However, when consumers make purchases, 70% claim they have some level of consideration of how food was raised and grown for food. When narrowing down to concerns related to how cattle are raised for food, less than 35% of respondents have a specific concern, with animal welfare rising to the top⁵.

(Consumer Beef Tracker, NCBA)

Given the challenging media landscape and lack of trust among consumers, NCBA looked to producers and a veterinarian to help raise overall perception related to how cattle are raised for food. Capturing a day in the life of local producers and a veterinarian, NCBA shared the level of care, overall well-being and hard work that goes into raising cattle.

When surveying consumers, both before and after seeing the featured video, the positive response grew from just over 30% to nearly 75% among respondents. Perhaps even more encouraging, negative perception decreased from nearly 30% to just 5% after seeing the featured video⁶.

Integrating industry education resources such as those in the Beef Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) and associated programs is one way that veterinarians can continue to be this trusted voice. Elevating cattle care through that partnership with the producer impacts animal health, product quality, and consumer confidence. Considering the consumer aspect of raising cattle is one area where veterinarians may have not previously contributed, though it is apparent that their influence goes beyond animal health.

In a marketplace filled with competing messages and general mistrust among consumers, it is very encouraging to see high levels of trust by consumers, specifically, in those individuals that have one-to-one experience with the animals, namely the veterinarian and the farmer/rancher to help share out the broader message of animal care.

There is still work to be done from a consumer perspective but having a trusted leader to share the message is a great place to start. For more consumer insights and Beef Checkoff-funded research, visit https://www.beefresearch.org/.

References
¹Circana
² Statista, 2025 projections based on actuals through 2023
³DataReportal: GWI; Meltwater; We Are Social
⁴Gallup 1927 - 2024
⁵NCBA Consumer Beef Tracker, January – December 2024
⁶NCBA: Raised and grown asset testing, October 2023