Trust Issues: U.S. Public Preferences for Entities to Protect the Environment

• In Event: Influence of Public Trust on Environmental Policy

Abstract

This paper examines which institutions and entities the U.S. general public trusts to protect the environment. Using data from the Natural Marketing Institute 2016 LOHAS survey, we evaluate which institutions and entities are identified by 1,022 respondents as trustworthy to protect the environment (broadly defined). Survey respondents could identify more than just the U.S. government as trustworthy. Options for trust also include corporations, foreign governments, individuals, schools and universities, the media, non-profit organizations, volunteer groups, entertainment groups and figures, and no one at all. The results suggest there is not a singular institution or entity that is overwhelmingly trusted by the public to protect the environment. Indeed, a significant portion of the population (25%) trusts no one to protect the environment. The remaining 75% appear to trust individual people (43%), non-profit organizations (39%), and volunteer groups (37%) the most. Corporations (7%), entertainment figures (6%), the media (3%), and foreign governments (3%) are the least trusted. U.S. government (18%) and schools and universities (14%) received only moderate support.

We first explore trust as an outcome using a multiple regression to identify the factors predicting which entity an individual trusts to protect the environment. We include sociodemographic characteristics, partisanship, and proxy variables standing in for environmental worldview, such as diet and willingness to buy GMO products, which have been shown as expressions of underlying beliefs, values, and risk perceptions (e.g. Adams, 2010; Christopher, Bartkowski, and Haverda, 2018; Lusk et al. 2005; Lusk, McFadden, and Wilson, 2018; Micheletti and Stolle, 2012a and 2012b). In addition, as Hetherington (2005) reminds us, trust is both an input and an outcome. As such, we further explore the intersection of partisanship, environmental worldview, and trust to evaluate a specific policy outcome – the 2016 GMO labeling law – to dissect the impact of trust on policy preferences. Survey research has repeatedly demonstrated that the general public favors clear on-package labeling of food products that contain genetically engineered or modified ingredients. However, the effect of consumer willingness to buy and strength of opinion varies among groups (Lusk, McFadden, and Wilson, 2018; Mosier, Rimal, and Ruxton, 2018; Rimal and Mosier, 2017). We seek to evaluate the understudied dynamic of trust in institutions to identify how this variable could impact expressed policy preferences.

Ultimately, we hypothesize that a “trust gap” (Pries, Bonfadelli and Rusanen 2003) will be evident in our analyses, wherein gaps between trust in public versus private individuals/organizations/institutions will appear based on partisanship and environmental worldview, particularly in views on GMO labeling policies. This hypothesis is further supported by extant research that identifies the influence of trust on support for government institutions and actions (e.g. Konisky, Milyo, Richardson, 2008; Hetherington, 2005). Consequences of the findings will be discussed in light of the recent final rule for GMO labeling.

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Authors

• Megan Ruxton, University of Northern Iowa

• Samantha Mosier, East Carolina University