gotbeer
Fri, May-16-03, 07:15
National campaign to show value in today's beef
New promotional program could strengthen state's cattle industry through emphasis on nutrition
Last modified at 11:23 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, 2003
Published Friday, May 16, 2003
By Robert Pore rpore~theindependent.com
link to article (http://www.theindependent.com/stories/051603/new_beef16.shtml)
KEARNEY -- A new national promotional campaign touting the nutritional benefits of beef will provide an economic boost to Nebraska's economy, said Sallie Atkins, executive director of the Nebraska Beef Council.
The new national promotion, which is being funded by checkoff dollars paid by Nebraska beef producers, is designed to correct some misconceptions people have about beef's nutritional values. The program kicked off on Thursday.
"This is pretty bold for the beef industry," Atkins said.
For a long time, she said, the beef industry has allowed consumers to believe that other protein sources, such as chicken, were the "gold standard" for healthy eating.
"Now that we have the scientific information about beef nutrition, we just thought as an industry it was time to set the record straight with good nutrition information," Atkins said.
She said in addition to the new nutrition print ad campaign, the beef industry is also providing a lot of new nutrition information to health care professionals and consumers to let them know that beef can be as healthy as chicken or other protein sources in their diet.
Atkins said the new national beef nutrition promotion is being funded by checkoff dollars paid by beef producers on the national level. The National Cattlemen Beef Association is the contracting organization responsible for the campaign.
The Nebraska Beef Council is responsible for how checkoff dollars are used in the state.
Atkins said by law, 50 cents of every checkoff dollar collected in Nebraska goes to the national organization, with the other half remaining in the state to help fund promotional, research and education efforts.
"Because we don't have a large population in Nebraska, we send an additional portion of our 50 cents on," she said. "We only keep about 14 cents to 15 cents of every checkoff dollar collected in Nebraska."
Atkins said Nebraska beef producers are supportive of the national checkoff program, both on a domestic and international level.
Along with the national beef nutritional campaign, Atkins said there is another national program promoting the enjoyment element of eating beef.
What drove the beef industry to promote the nutritional aspects of beef consumption, she said, was the beef industry wanting to "set the record straight" about the healthy aspects of including beef as part of one's diet.
"We have known for a long time that there were great nutritional components in beef, such as zinc, iron and protein," Atkins said. "Consumers don't really understand the nutritional value in beef. We feel that it is our job to let them know how to eat healthy, and that certainly includes beef in your diet."
Along with the checkoff dollars being used to promote the nutritional value of beef, Atkins said those same checkoff dollars have been used to promote better understanding of the role beef plays in a healthy diet.
"We just want to be able to cut through a lot of the clutter of the conflicting nutrition information that is out there," she said. "This just gives us the opportunity to do that. We are on the verge of a lot of exciting things going on in our industry."
New promotional program could strengthen state's cattle industry through emphasis on nutrition
Last modified at 11:23 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, 2003
Published Friday, May 16, 2003
By Robert Pore rpore~theindependent.com
link to article (http://www.theindependent.com/stories/051603/new_beef16.shtml)
KEARNEY -- A new national promotional campaign touting the nutritional benefits of beef will provide an economic boost to Nebraska's economy, said Sallie Atkins, executive director of the Nebraska Beef Council.
The new national promotion, which is being funded by checkoff dollars paid by Nebraska beef producers, is designed to correct some misconceptions people have about beef's nutritional values. The program kicked off on Thursday.
"This is pretty bold for the beef industry," Atkins said.
For a long time, she said, the beef industry has allowed consumers to believe that other protein sources, such as chicken, were the "gold standard" for healthy eating.
"Now that we have the scientific information about beef nutrition, we just thought as an industry it was time to set the record straight with good nutrition information," Atkins said.
She said in addition to the new nutrition print ad campaign, the beef industry is also providing a lot of new nutrition information to health care professionals and consumers to let them know that beef can be as healthy as chicken or other protein sources in their diet.
Atkins said the new national beef nutrition promotion is being funded by checkoff dollars paid by beef producers on the national level. The National Cattlemen Beef Association is the contracting organization responsible for the campaign.
The Nebraska Beef Council is responsible for how checkoff dollars are used in the state.
Atkins said by law, 50 cents of every checkoff dollar collected in Nebraska goes to the national organization, with the other half remaining in the state to help fund promotional, research and education efforts.
"Because we don't have a large population in Nebraska, we send an additional portion of our 50 cents on," she said. "We only keep about 14 cents to 15 cents of every checkoff dollar collected in Nebraska."
Atkins said Nebraska beef producers are supportive of the national checkoff program, both on a domestic and international level.
Along with the national beef nutritional campaign, Atkins said there is another national program promoting the enjoyment element of eating beef.
What drove the beef industry to promote the nutritional aspects of beef consumption, she said, was the beef industry wanting to "set the record straight" about the healthy aspects of including beef as part of one's diet.
"We have known for a long time that there were great nutritional components in beef, such as zinc, iron and protein," Atkins said. "Consumers don't really understand the nutritional value in beef. We feel that it is our job to let them know how to eat healthy, and that certainly includes beef in your diet."
Along with the checkoff dollars being used to promote the nutritional value of beef, Atkins said those same checkoff dollars have been used to promote better understanding of the role beef plays in a healthy diet.
"We just want to be able to cut through a lot of the clutter of the conflicting nutrition information that is out there," she said. "This just gives us the opportunity to do that. We are on the verge of a lot of exciting things going on in our industry."