Sample Op-ed—Internal
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[NOTE: This sample is drafted as a generic opinion column for producer
co-op publications. Use this format, but make your opinion column
as specific as possible. All information in italics
should be filled in to localize the column for your community.]
Product: Sample Op-ed--Internal
Co-op Type: Producer Co-ops
Use: Run in Internal member newsletters, newspapers
or magazines under CEO or Board Chair byline
Audience: Members
This October, Co-ops Celebrate Trust
A new national consumer survey, released during the annual celebration
of National Cooperative Month in October, confirms what many of
us expected. It found that consumers have greater trust in businesses
that are locally owned and democratically governed by their members.
And, in good news for farmers and ranchers, the survey found that
consumers particularly favor producer-owned cooperatives, recognizing
their contributions to rural economies and preferring co-op products.
These results are not surprising given the wave of corporate accountability
scandals that have shaken confidence in how corporate America governs
itself.
The first casualty of the Enron-like scandals has been public trust.
But this survey suggests that despite consumer skepticism of corporate
America, cooperatives remain highly trusted, preferred places to
do business. Two-thirds of respondents said that businesses that
are owned and governed by the people who use their goods and services
are more trustworthy than those that are not.
Those consumers were describing co-ops: they’re owned by
their members, not by outside investors. And co-ops exist solely
to serve the needs of their members, not to enrich management or
Wall Street investors.
[name of your co-op] is heartened by the confidence of
Americans in producer-owned and governed cooperatives. More than
80 percent of those surveyed agreed that producer-owned co-ops strengthen
rural communities and help producers succeed.
Sixty-four percent agreed that food products produced by farm cooperatives
were of higher quality than those produced by other types of companies.
And 69 percent said they’d be more likely to buy food grown
or processed by a producer cooperative than by other types of companies.
It’s clear that both city and country dwellers recognize the
important role that co-ops like [name of your co-op] play
in our nation’s economy.
The results suggest that all farmer and rancher owned cooperatives
have an advantage in the marketplace. It’s clear that consumers
recognize the inherent benefits of producer co-ops and prefer our
products. We must be sure that our community leaders, lenders, public
representatives and others do as well.
Our co-op is in good company. Americans also rated consumer-owned
co-ops, like electric cooperatives, credit unions, and food cooperatives,
higher than publicly traded corporations on questions of trust,
ethics, value, service and price.
More than two-thirds of Americans agreed that consumer co-ops are
ethically governed, while just 45 percent said the same of publicly
traded corporations. More than 75 percent agreed that these co-ops
run their businesses in a trustworthy manner compared to just 53
percent for publicly traded firms. And like producer co-ops, well
over a majority of Americans surveyed said they’d be more
likely to do business with a company if they knew it was a consumer
cooperative.
Though [insert name of co-op] is owned by producers not
consumers, it’s clear that we enjoy substantial benefits from
our association with the broader cooperative community, including
consumer co-ops. Consumers trust all types of co-ops. And for good
reason. As a community, we must continue working together to promote
our cooperative status . . . in October, and beyond.
In fact, the survey I mention in this column was sponsored by a
coalition of consumer co-op and producer co-op organizations. It
was a cooperative effort. Research that was too costly for one organization
to produce on its own was affordable when the coalition of nine
co-op organizations got together. Now, that’s cooperation.
And the results of that effort help all cooperatives demonstrate
the important role of member-owned businesses in providing skeptical
Americans with a business alternative they can trust: co-ops. And
in rural America, they’re right around the corner.
-end-
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