This Week: What Has The Beef Checkoff Program's CONSUMER INFORMATION Program Area Done For Me Lately?CONSUMER INFORMATION, as defined in the Beef Promotion & Research Act, means “nutritional data and other information that will assist consumers and other persons in making evaluations and decisions regarding the purchasing, preparing and use of beef and beef products.” This includes programs such as youth education and information, communications with nutrition influencers, and public relations. Rock n' Roll With Veal – Through the beef checkoff’s Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative and in partnership with the Pennsylvania Beef Council, veal was center stage at the Philadelphia Rock n' Roll Half Marathon Health & Fitness Expo, Sept. 16-17. An estimated 25,000 runners and their families toured the expo during the two-day event. The National Beef Ambassadors also lent a hand to in serving more than 2,600 veal bratwurst samples to eager expo visitors and runners. And checkoff staffer Christie Brown ran the half marathon for Team BEEF! Check out our Facebook page for pictures! Wrap With Beef – The National Beef Cook-Off® program is partnering with Ahold USA for a two-day beef recipe sampling promotion in 272 Stop & Shop New England, Giant Landover, and Giant Carlisle retail stores Oct. 28-29. The retail promotion will involve beef recipe sampling led by New Concepts in Marketing, Inc. and featuring store customers, a recipe card and online engagement to sell top sirloin steaks and motivate consumers to cook the winning beef recipe, Greek Steak Wraps. At the same time, an online promotion will direct store customers to visit the www.beefcookoff.org website to comment about the National Beef Cook-Off recipe, with an ‘opt-in offer’ to participate in a daily drawing. A sales report will track the percentage increase in beef sales during the in-store promotion, and a website report will track the number of participants and their comments. Can’t Dampen Ambassador Spirits – The checkoff’s National Beef Ambassador team experienced a bit of Hurricane Irene while working at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, Aug. 29-31, but the wet weather didn’t dampen their spirits or their enthusiasm for beef! The team worked in partnership with the New York Beef Industry Council to demonstrate a variety of delicious and nutritious beef recipes on the “Beef It’s What’s for Dinner Culinary Stage,” where more than 600 people watched as they prepared Veal Riggies, Beef Chili 5-Ways, Beef and Veggie Pizza, and other mouth-watering beef meals during their 21 cooking demonstrations and welcomed literally thousands of fair goers to the beef booth, engaging regularly in positive conversations about modern beef production. Visit Beef Ambassadors for additional information and links to the NBAP blog, and follow the Ambassadors on Twitter @beefambassador. From A to Beef – As we reflect back on the summer months, one thing is certain: Consumers and media love beef. From colorful, ethnic cuisine to zesty barbecue brisket, the versatility and simplicity of beef has shined in top media outlets, including Rachael Ray and Family Circle. In the broadcast arena, Today Show produced a detailed segment about the best ways to cut, cook and prepare beef. Entitled, “Take A Crash Course in Butchering,” the segment demonstrated how simple selecting and cooking with beef can be. Talking Beef on CNN –“The Last Heart Attack,” an hour-long documentary with CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, featured an interview with Dr. Shalene McNeill, executive director of human nutrition research for the checkoff. She appeared alongside former President Bill Clinton, who turned to a vegan diet following heart surgery, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, who calls heart disease a “foodborne disease.” Dr. McNeill told viewers that “incorporating lean beef in a healthy diet can actually help you stick to a healthy diet because it’s a food that people enjoy.” Representatives of the egg and dairy industries also weighed in with information on the value of nutrient rich foods, like beef, in the diet. The entire hour-long program can be viewed on the CNN website. Dr. McNeill’s comments begin at 30:53 in the program. Post-Graduate Work –Graduates of the checkoff’s Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program now have an opportunity to continue their education through a series of webinars. The first MBA Continuing Education Webinar was in August and featured an in-depth look at the checkoff-funded Cattlemen’s Stewardship Review. Nearly 50 MBA graduates logged in for the webinar, and a recorded version was made available on the MBA Alumni Association site for those unable to join live. Here’s a testimonial from one graduate: “Really good stuff. I like having facts and figures readily available, such as the one that points out that we produce 20 percent of the world’s beef with only 7 percent of the cattle. The last time I visited my family doctor, he had just watched ‘Food Inc.’ and he really gave me an earful about subsidized corn and how it is killing Americans. I wish I would have had your report in my head at that time. I think people relate and accept easily quantifiable data — it appears that your report has plenty of this powerful information.” Additional webinars are planned for this fall and throughout 2012. “Meat Your Label” – Registered dietitians in supermarkets wear many hats, frequently serving as a gateway of information to nutrition-minded shoppers, while also helping retailers better understand how to feature and showcase products that meet current consumer needs. With this in mind, there couldn’t be a more appropriate initial audience for targeted outreach about the new meat labeling laws that go into effect in January 2012. Accordingly, the checkoff hosted a webinar about this topic Aug. 31, and more than 230 health professionals from across the United States participated! Checkoff nutrition specialists led discussion of lean beef’s role on the American plate; shared the latest science about health benefits of high-quality protein on weight management, glycemic control and heart disease; and discussed how these new laws can enhance retail sales and increase consumer satisfaction. A recording of the webinar is available on the BeefNutrition.org website. Sizzling Coverage – The checkoff’s annual visits with top-tier consumer media spurred extensive coverage in two leading magazines recently, including a nine-page feature that ran in the September edition of Real Simple. “Sizzling and Simple, the definitive guide to all things steak from the right cut to the right sauce and all the juicy details in between. Dig In” addresses everything from demystifying cuts of beef to specific cooking tips and techniques. Cooking Light also highlighted beef on the cover of its October edition, which is just hitting newsstands now and features a seven-page article and recipes that “Start with a pound of ground beef.” These features reflect not only the relationships that the checkoff continues to cultivate with important media, but also the value that these editors attach to the checkoff as a resource. |