2003 NewsHub Archive
America’s Beef Producers Use Checkoff Funds to Set Nutrition Record Straight
Through their beef checkoff, America’s beef producers today launched a first-of-its-kind advertising campaign that compares the nutritional benefits of lean beef and skinless chicken. The ads use government data to illustrate that lean beef compares favorably to skinless chicken breast in terms of fat, yet provides greater amounts of some essential nutrients.
The campaign, funded through the$1-per-head checkoff, is being managed for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). The Beef Board administers the national beef checkoff, subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
As the new ads point out, six of beef’s leanest cuts have, on average, just one more gram of saturated fat but eight times more vitamin B12, six times more zinc and three times more iron than chicken’s leanest cut: the skinless chicken breast. This information is based on sound science and is according to a USDA database that lists the nutrient compositions for all foods (www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp).
Linda Joy Stovall, a Texas cattle producer who sits on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and is chairman of the Joint Advertising Committee, says she’s excited about the new checkoff-funded nutrition ad campaign. The campaign, she says, was “made possible from the great teamwork of the Joint Nutrition and Health Committee… and the Joint Advertising Committee.”
Stovall pointed out that there are 70 members on the Joint Nutrition and Health Committee, and 26 members of the Joint Advertising Committee, meaning that at least 96 U.S. beef producers were involved in participating in development of this campaign. “Everyone put a lot of time and energy into the meetings for review, discussion, debate and, finally, the recommendations for the campaign.” This effort, she says, “was not in vain.”
Stovall says she is “proud to be part of an effort that sets the record straight on beef nutrition. Our consumers need to know that they can feel good about eating beef, and our campaign will provide the factual information that they will need to make informed choices about the foods they eat and serve their families.”
Nelson Curry, a beef producer from Kentucky and vice chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, says this campaign “is the culmination of a lot of years of hard work of volunteer producer leadership within our organizations to bring nutrition information to the forefront and … set the record straight for American consumers.”
Curry, who has held several leadership positions on checkoff committees, says it’s the beef producers and their checkoff dollars that go to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils that make possible the kinds of programs that “enlighten the American consumer about the healthfulness, nutritionally, of beef.”
Wade Zimmerman, a Colorado beef producer, Cattlemen’s Beef Board member and chairman of the Joint Nutrition & Health Committee, says “20 years of misinformation about beef and conventional wisdom has led many consumers to believe that skinless chicken breast is the ‘gold standard’ of healthy eating. The facts don’t support this conventional wisdom.”
Zimmerman says it’s the intent of the campaign to “arm consumers with greater nutrition knowledge about the foods they eat.”
Mark Thomas, NCBA vice president for global marketing, says this is not an “anti-chicken” campaign. “We’re not saying ‘don’t eat chicken.’ We are saying that you can feel good about eating lean beef,” he says. “With so much conflicting nutrition information out there, it’s time to set the record straight. People love beef. And now they can enjoy lean beef for its great taste and its nutrient benefits.”
The series of four ads will appear in the July and September issues of 23 consumer-interest magazines. They feature full-page photos of beef and headlines such as “Lean beef’s actually lower in fat than you think. Makes you wonder about eating all that skinless chicken, doesn’t it?” and “Lean beef is nearly as lean as chicken. Bet that really frustrates chickens, after all the running around they do.”
“The truth is, lean beef is a nutrition powerhouse,” says Mary K. Young, M.S., R.D., NCBA executive director of nutrition. “We’ve launched this campaign to let beef lovers know that lean beef compares favorably to the fatty acid profile of skinless chicken breast but gives you more essential nutrients like zinc, iron and vitamin B12.”
The campaign’s nutritional comparison is based on a 3-ounce cooked serving of skinless chicken breast and an average of 3-ounce cooked servings of six widely available cuts of lean beef: eye round roast, top round steak, top sirloin steak, boneless shoulder pot roast, round tip roast and shoulder steak. While these lean beef cuts have, on average, just one more gram of saturated fat than the skinless chicken breast, their total fat content is still only a fraction (less than 10 percent) of the recommended daily value.
In addition to the six lean cuts of beef referenced in the ad campaign, at least seven more cuts meet government requirements for “lean” or “extra lean,” and include some of America’s favorites, such as tenderloin, T-bone steak and 95 percent lean ground beef. When shopping for these leaner cuts of beef in the grocery store, look for the words “round” or “loin” in the name.
“We want to remind people that beef is, and has always been, one of nature’s best-tasting multivitamins. It’s an ‘excellent source’ of five nutrients – protein, zinc, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin B12 – and a ‘good source’ of four – iron, niacin, riboflavin and vitamin B6,” says Young. “These nutrients are important for good health and may play a positive role in some of today’s major health issues, including improved bone health, prevention of anemia, healthy fertility and even maintaining muscle mass during weight loss.”
For the USDA data on the nutritional composition of more than 6,200 foods, go to www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp.
For more information about the Beef Checkoff Program’s nutrition ad campaign, nutritional information about beef and delicious recipes, visit www.BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com.
These beef industry nutrition education efforts are funded by beef producers through their $1-per-head beef checkoff program and are managed for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The national beef checkoff is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. This 108-member board is appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to oversee collection of the $1-per-head beef checkoff, certify state beef councils, implement the provisions of the Federal Order establishing the checkoff and evaluate the effectiveness of the checkoff programs.
Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.