Science and facts may not be enough to win public trust when it comes to agriculture's social license.

Charlie Arnot of the Centre for Food Integrity in Kansas City, MO, says farmers need to create dialogue and relationships to make values-based connections with consumers.

"People do want to know [farmers] as people," he says, "and if you know someone as a person, if you can make that value-based connection, you no longer think of them as an institution, you think of them as a person that's a mom, a dad, a brother, a sister — somebody else that's like you or someone you know — that then creates the foundation for building that relationship and maintaining a social license."

Arnot says transparency is key for farmers to regain consumer trust, especially for an industry with a mentality of, "we have nothing to hide, but it's none of your business."

"We have to overcome that — and I understand it. Having grown up in a rural community, there was that deep sense of respect for your neighbours fences, and what happens on your farm is your business, and what happens on my farm is my business," Arnot says. "But in today's environment where anybody who has a cell phone can be a cinematographer, they can drive by, they can be on your farm, they can take a picture, they can take a video and they can post it, and you're public before you know it.

"So rather than waiting for that to happen, we need to be ready to be engaged in that."

Arnot says it's good to use a variety of media to engage with consumers — whether that's digital media, radio, or social media.

"If we are truly willing to be more open and not hide what we do, it takes away a lot of that skepticism and suspicion, and it's the single most powerful thing we can do to restore trust in how we operate today," Arnot says.

When farmers find themselves talking to a worried consumer, Arnot says it's important to listen to the issue, ask questions about their concerns, and find a common ground to find an understanding of the concern.