When the consumer is aware that farmers are accountable to health standards and procedures on the farm, a higher level of safety in the beef is perceived. Farmers are not responsible for problems arising from an uncontrollable disease, however, improper injecting, disease prevention and disease control can be traced back to the farmer. A relationship must be built between the farmer and the consumer to ensure a level of trust when the issue of accountability is addressed. The National Identification of Canadian beef cattle will place a higher degree of trust between the producer and consumer. A new breed of consumer has emerged at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
Consumers now have a larger number of choices.
Better-informed consumers want to make better choices. They want answers to questions of quality assurance and safety. They want to know why Canadian beef is better than imported products. If Canadian producers can't respond to these questions with accurate and convincing answers then consumer confidence will diminish. The National Identification of the Canadian cattle herd will inform the consumer so that they can make the best choice possible.