By Randy Day, CEO, Perdue Farms

Last month, I had the opportunity to address our hometown Chamber of Commerce in Salisbury, Maryland.

I commented that “the most powerful voice in our society is the consuming public.” I was surprised the quote made national news, ending up in USA Today. Surprised,  because at Perdue, we’ve always listened to consumers. When Frank Perdue started the PERDUE® brand in 1968, he first asked what people wanted. Then, it was all about the quality of the product.

Today’s consumers are reconnecting to where their food comes from, and how it is produced. They are demanding transparency and letting us know if they don’t like the answers. At Perdue, we see this as an extension of our propensity to listen to consumers.

It’s why we’re raising chickens without antibiotics. It’s why all our chickens now have more space and all new chicken houses will have windows and natural light. It’s why we’ve embraced the Five Freedoms, going beyond just the needs of our chickens to include what our chickens want – including opportunities to express normal behaviors.

Yes, those changes cost money. But, the poultry business as a whole has grown by investing in the attributes consumers want. When we started selling chickens in stores a half century ago, chickens were sold resting on ice in the butcher’s case. We went from that to putting chicken in packages, then cutting up and putting it into trays, on to boneless breasts and all the way to fully cooked products. All those changes added cost, but it was what consumers wanted.

Is there a difference between meeting consumer demand for convenience and consumer expectations for how food is produced? Consumers are telling us no, and we’re listening. We listened 50 years ago, we are listening today and we will be listening tomorrow.