The statutory authority for commercial egg producers, Australian Eggs, has released its seventh annual Industry Sustainability Framework Community Research Report – revealing an increased level of industry trust from the general public.
The report has been undertaken since 2018, commencing with an aim to productively engage with the Australian community to guide ongoing industry improvement. Australian Eggs hires researchers to conduct national community surveys to explore the Australian public’s attitudes and opinions towards the egg industry and identify drivers of trust and acceptance.
The organisation states that engaging directly with a large representative sample of Australians has allowed the industry to decouple important sustainability issues from the media cycle, and obtain a much clearer sense of mainstream community expectations.
The 2024 Sustainability Framework Community Research Survey was conducted by independent social science researchers, Voconiq, between 1-31 May 2024, and engaged over 5000 Australians.
Key insights from the 2024 survey reveal a continued emphasis on environmental responsibility, industry responsiveness, and the emergence of technological innovation as pivotal drivers of community trust.
While environmental responsibility remains a critical factor, industry responsiveness has re-emerged as the strongest driver of trust, highlighting the community’s desire for an industry that listens and adapts to their concerns.
The 2024 report findings show industry responsiveness is the main driver of community trust, with 74.6 per cent of Australians confident in the egg industry’s ability to identify and respond to community expectations, up from 70.2 per cent.
Australian Eggs managing director, Rowan McMonnies, said this year’s survey results showed a significant increase in trust, in what has been a challenging time for the industry.
“Our research shows that Aussie consumers continue to strongly support the egg farmers, with 69 per cent expressing trust in the industry to act responsibly - our highest level to date,” said McMonnies.
“It’s been a difficult time for the industry with the avian influenza outbreak in late-Autumn. This survey was conducted over this period, so it seems the process of listening to the community is continuing to work,” he said.
It is important to note that the first reports of avian influenza appeared only four days before the survey results closed. Although the results collected from participants after the news broke suggested no significant impact on their perceptions of the industry due to this, the small sample size and lack of control group makes it difficult to determine whether they were aware of the news and if it would have made a difference.
The metrics of trust were determined by three questions, with participants asked if they trusted the egg industry to act in the best interest of society, act responsibility, and do what is right. On average, these questions yielded a 6.2 per cent increase in agreement from the 2023 results.
“We have seen positive increases in all key areas, including environmental management, which remains a key priority for Australians. These results are a welcomed surprise after results plateaued at a high level in recent years,” said McMonnies.
“These results put the egg industry in good stead to address supply challenges and continue to deliver a trusted source of protein to Australian tables.”
There was a 2.1 per cent increase in agreement with the statement “Australian egg farmers have successfully used new technologies to improve the way they operate”, a sentiment that Australian Eggs is taking into account with the recent launch of an online virtual reality biosecurity training tool.
The 2024 Sustainability Framework Community Research Survey is available here, and will inform Australian Eggs’ 2025 Sustainability Framework, which aims to explore community attitudes and perceptions of the egg industry.
