42 / SEEDWORLD.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 But what about the absence of face-to-face time with farm- ers? The next thing Weibold says consumers can trust — and it’s small now, but it’s going to increase — is a reliable, trustwor- thy, fully transparent traceability program. Verner agrees, adding “We, as an industry, need to be very transparent about this and how we operate and why.” People are interested in it and receptive to it, she says. For food companies that operate at scale, Weibold says the challenge is to figure out how to tell the consumer a story that starts with the seed, goes all the way through the distribution chain and is made into a box of Cheerios and ultimately deliv- ered to a shelf, which is bought by a mom. That’s one area where General Mills is working toward a solution. Consumers Want Sustainability A part of the food story that consumers are looking for has to do with sustainability. At General Mills, Weibold is responsible for reducing the company’s raw materials carbon footprint and advancing the company’s work to sustainably source 100 percent of its 10 priority raw materials by 2020. While many know General Mills for its brands, such as Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Yoplait yogurt and Nature Valley granola bars, many might not know the company is one of the largest producers of organic and natural foods in the United States. Weibold says it’s the brands that helped to make the company’s sustain- ability strategy, which was developed to help ensure supply chain resiliency. “It’s important that we have a resil- ient supply chain so that we can access raw materials now and into the future to make the products that we want to sell,” Weibold says. He explains the sustainability strategy focuses on four areas: improving the lives of farmers, enhancing watersheds, maintaining a stable climate and better- ing ecosystems. While consumers may think that big is bad, Weibold says big is good. “We have scale,” he says. “We do business all over the world. We have capabilities, and we buy a lot of raw materials. We believe the work that we do upstream in our supply chain has a direct impact on the ecosystems around the world, and we want to leverage that for the positive.” Weibold acknowledges that they can’t advance the ball in reaching any of their goals if they are not engaging with large-scale agriculture. “It starts with farmers,” he says, SW “We believe the work that we do upstream in our supply chain has a direct impact on the ecosystems around the world, and we want to leverage that for the positive.” — John Weibold WHERE ON THE WEB To read more insight from this panel of experts, visit SeedWorld.com/asta-consumer-panel. $1 billion is the amount consumers spend annually at farmers markets. 70% of consumers surveyed said they read food labels. 3% of consumers surveyed actually read food labels. 2020 is the year by which the dairy industry committed to reduce carbon emmissions by 20 percent.