If you have ever watched any of the 21 James Bond movies, (No. 22 is due out in November) you know that his number is 007 and that the 00 rating means he has a “license to kill.”

American food producers and processors also have a license - a social license. This is a concept developed by the Council for Food Integrity, a trade organization comprised of stakeholders from all links in the food chain.

The concept was developed to explain the trust farmers, food processors, and retailers have been granted by consumers. But recent events have combined to put that social license in jeopardy.
As Charlie Arnot, the CEO of the Council for Food Integrity, explains it, the opposite of a social license is social control. This results when consumers have no trust in an industry and demand strict regulation and oversight.

For example, consumers have not granted a social license to the nuclear energy industry, but rather strict social control is exercised to regulate the use and proliferation of nuclear power. This is because nuclear power is very dangerous and one slip up could end life as we know it on the planet.

While raising cows, pigs or chickens is a far cry from nuclear power, consumers are beginning to exercise more and more social control of the livestock industry.

A series of well publicized cases of animal abuse, infectious diseases, and food safety recalls have sparked calls for more social control over farming and food processing. Some of these incidents are the result of deliberate actions by activist groups, while others are the result of poor operating practices.

Research by the CFI indicates that, while consumer trust of farmers and food producers remains high, questions about animal welfare, food safety and environmental responsibility are growing trends among the public.

We do not have to look far to see examples of what happens to an industry that loses its social license: take the accounting industry in light of the Enron scandal, or look at what is happening to the home mortgage business in light of the crisis in the credit market.
Loss of public trust results in more government regulations and a much higher cost of doing business.

For agriculture, it is not just state or federal regulations that pose a threat but also international regulations. The OIE, the international organization that regulates world trade in meat products, has not only adopted health standards but is working on animal care guidelines as well.

In the future, countries which do not adhere to certain production practices would be banned from exporting meat products onto the world market.

So what does all this mean for producers here in the Midwest? It means that it is license renewal time. If we, as producers, want to keep our social license to produce food and feed the world, then we need to address some serious issues and make some changes in our attitudes and operations.

A number of programs, both public and private, have been developed to assure consumers our animals are treated humanely, our meat is safe and traceable, and we are environmentally responsible in the way we treat the land and our communities.
Some of these programs have been met with apathy and hostility by some producers and organizations. While these programs must be well designed and effective, they must also be supported by everyone up and down the food chain.

James Bond may be cavalier with his women, but he takes his 007 responsibility seriously. Likewise, we in agriculture and food production and processing must take our social license to feed the world very seriously.