The 2014 Food and Health Survey asked, Which of these sources would you trust the most to provide accurate information about nutrition? 50% said health professionals. Then it dipped down to 15% for health-focused websites, 11% for scientific journals, 9% for government agencies, 5% for food manufacturers, and 5% for friends and family.

The survey also asked, Which of these sources would you trust the most to provide accurate information about The Ways Foods and Beverages are Farmed and Produced? 28% said government agencies, while 17% said scientific journals, 13% health-focused websites, 12% health professionals, 12% news media, and 10% food manufacturers.

The survey questioned, “Over the past year, how much thought have you given to whether your foods and beverages are produced in an environmentally sustainable way?” 19% said a lot, 43% said a little, and 35% said none.

Another question was, “Over the past year, how much thought have you given to the ways the food and beverages you consume are farmed or produced?” 23% said a lot, while 48% said a little and 27% said none.

Interestingly, in a separate question, 70% of people said they consume peanut butter or nut butters to get protein. 22% consumed meat alternatives.

So for manufactures producing products, certainly there seems to be different audiences. Businesses have to figure out how to meet various needs. Possibly about a quarter to a half of consumers have an interest in vegetarian related issues, though not necessarily vegetarianism (for example they may be interested in organics, but care about organic meat as well as organic vegetables, or eating peanut butter for cheap protein and taste, not necessarily because it’s vegetarian.)

For those companies and nonprofits trying to share their nutrition messages, there would appear to be several avenues, but reaching health professionals seems to be important.

The 2014 Food and Health Survey was sponsored by the International Food Information Council Foundation and conducted by Greenwald and Associates, surveying 1,005 Americans.

Here is more information about IFIC.
http://www.foodinsight.org/
http://www.foodinsight.org/About/Board-Of-Trustees.aspx

For more information on vegetarian polls, see
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faq.htm#poll