Cookbook Helps USMEF Put U.S. Beef On More Japanese Tables

For months, Japanese consumers have been hearing about American beef directly from some of the women who work in the U.S. industry. But, starting now, the U.S. Meat Export Federation "Aisareru beef," or desire beef, message will be carried "woman-to-woman" through the words and recipes of Yu Hayami, a Japanese celebrity wife and mother.

According to Shinobu Shimada, director of consumer affairs in USMEF's Tokyo office: "We choose Yu Hayami as our campaign spokesperson because of her international - especially  American - background, her cooking talents and her fame as a TV personality. She is widely known to our target audience and matches with our women's campaign concept as well. She is married, a homemaker with a professional career who has a 14-month old daughter and is expecting her second child in January."

Born in Japan and raised from three to 14 years of age in the United States, Yu returned to Japan to pursue a career in entertainment. She has evolved into a versatile performer in movies, on stage and television, and as a recording artist. She was graduated with a bachelor degree in Japanese Culture from Sophia University in Tokyo and has traveled worldwide acting as an ambassador and representative for Japan. Her most recent achievement has been on stage, having just completed three seasons as Cosette in the Japanese adaptation of "Les Miserables," which received overwhelming reviews from theater critics.

During a media reception to launch the new cookbook, Yu demonstrated roast beef and beef pasta salad recipes on stage, while six other recipes from the cookbook also were available for tasting. The 98-page color cookbook, "American Beef Cooking; Yu Hayami's Party Recipes and Daily Menu," features more than 70 recipes and is published by Magazine House, one of the Japanese leading publishers. The cookbook sells for 900 yen including tax (about $7.50) and is available in more than 3,000 book stores throughout Japan.

Since the discovery of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in the Japanese cattle herd last September, USMEF has worked to assure Japanese consumers that U.S. beef is safe and wholesome. The $8.4 million promotional effort, funded in part by the beef checkoff, is working to restore demand for beef in No. 1 U.S. beef export market.

While Japan remains the No. 1 U.S. beef export market, USDA statistics for 2001 show U.S. exports to Japan declined 6 percent in volume from the record year of 2000, at 513,563 metric tons, while value was off 11 percent to about $1.6 billion. The USMEF effort has helped promote a steady return to beef and an increase in U.S. market share during the first half of 2002. Although U.S. sales to Japan during the first half of 2002 remained below a year ago, worldwide sales were up 6 percent through May.

In 2001, according to revised USDA statistics, total U.S. beef exports were 1.274 million metric tons, with a value of $ 3.406 billion. Exports now account for nearly 13.4 percent of U.S. beef production on a wholesale weight basis.

The U.S. Meat Export Federation is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.