The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Food Supply Chain:
Potential Effect on Consumer Trends and Perspectives

The Council’s August 25 monthly webinar will again focus on the food supply chain and how it is affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. This session will look at the potential impact on consumer trends and perspectives. Each member of our panel will each bring a different perspective on the issue.

• Dr. Bryon Wiegand is a professor of meat science in the Department of Animal Sciences in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. He will discuss the impact of the pandemic on smaller Missouri meat processors and how it is affecting current and future demand for their products.

• Jane Dukes is a Senior Account Manager, Consumer & Retail, with Merck Animal Health’s Veterinary & Consumer Affairs Team. Her background includes time at McDonald’s as part of their public relations team and with a major ad agency working on consumer brands. She will discuss the affects we are seeing in consumer attitudes and actions due to COVID-19 and what these changes may mean for food system leaders (farmers/ranchers, processors, input providers, service providers, governmental agencies, etc.) as we adapt to a “new normal.”

• Tara Dugan is Director of Research and Insights for the National Pork Board. She is responsible for providing insights across the pork supply chain, generating and distributing strategic analyses and relevant data that identify consumer attitudinal and behavioral patterns. Tara will discuss how consumers meat buying behaviors have shifted at retail, as well as how COVID has affected consumer attitudes, perspectives, and expectations of the meat industry.