Kathleen O'Donnell - Retail Panel Discussion: Consumers and Antibiotics

Consumers and Antibiotics

National Institute for Animal Agriculture

November 14, 2013

12/12/13

The Issue

Consumers are hearing about overuse of antibiotics and they are concerned.

5

Medical Community

6

Media and Reports

7

Social Media • Meatwithoutdrugs.org has collected over 500,000

signatures. • Citizens Against Superbugs has 60,000

Facebook likes• Supermoms Against Superbugs group visited

Washington D.C.• Save Antibiotics has 20,000 Twitter followers

Legislation and Regulation

9

CDC

Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013 is a snapshot of the complex problem of antibiotic resistance today and the potentially catastrophic consequences of inaction.

10

Wegmans’ Customers95,000+ communications in 2013, up 4%

11

What is Wegmans Doing?

• Emerging Issues Work Group

• Antibiotics, a focus topic

• Understand:– Treatment – Control– Prevention– Growth Promotion

12

What is Wegmans Doing?

• Transparency

• Anticipate Questions

• Prepare Answers

• Educate Employees

• Offer Customers Choice– Food You Feel Good About/Organic

Wegmans Brand

13

Wegmans Food You Feel Good About

• Cleaner label

• Minimally processed

• No antibiotics used (meat/poultry)

• No added hormones (meat)

• No animal by-products (meat/poultry)

14

Summary & Recommendations

• In the past three months, 99% of all respondents (n=2,352) purchased a Wegmans brand product, and 77% (knowingly) purchased a FYFGA product.

• 93% of all respondents are familiar with the “Food You Feel Good About” label.

• 68% of respondents stated that a Wegmans branded product (organic, meat, produce, or FYFGA) were their favorite “natural” labels. (unaided).

• The top 3 reasons for purchasing “Food You Feel Good About” products are that they are healthier, people trust Wegmans to put out a safe, quality product, and because of the absence of negative additives.

• Respondents trust that Wegmans products are held to the highest standards.

15

What “Food You Feel Good About” Means to Customers

(in their own words)

16

n=2,169

Most Important Food Attributes

17

*

*

*

*

*

Customers Say:

“I hope your chickens don't have hormones or antibiotics.... this is very important to me and, with Danny Wegman's focus on healthy eating/living, I would hope he'd want the same for his customers... thanks!!”

Customers Say:

“I am curious as to whether your chicken supplier gives their chickens antibiotics after reading about the issues with Foster Farms. I just read Mark Bittman's op ed piece in today's New York Times.”

Customers Say:

“Does Wegmans sell farm-raised fish that has been treated with antibiotics? There was a program on TV that basically said that farm raised fish is treated with antibiotics to prevent diseases.”“Recently I read an article comparing farm raised salmon with wild caught. It stated that farm raised were often overcrowded and fed large doses of antibiotics to prevent the spread of disease.”

Customers Say:

“I just learned that antibiotics are sprayed on ORGANIC apples and that its allowed, I find that to be extremely deceptive! I have been buying more organic apples lately and now I'm very upset about this news, can it be verified or not if the apples you sell are sprayed?? I'm so disgusted with this news I would hate to throw out all my apples because I refuse to consume ANY amount of an antibiotic. At the very least they should not be called organic.”

Thank you

Questions?

22