A new beef cookbook in bookstores now is showing consumers how beef fits the new dietary guidelines distributed by the U.S. government.  According to Mary Young, executive director of nutrition for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, says The Healthy Beef Cookbook takes on many of the misperceptions consumers have about beef.

Cut #1         :26          Outcue: "...good about it, too."

Young says the checkoff-funded cookbook points out significant changes the industry has instituted in its products.

Cut #2         :43          Outcue: "...for a leaner product."

The cookbook addresses the issue of obesity head-on.

Cut #3         :18          Outcue: "...answers that call."

Young says government has challenged the food industry to provide foods that are lean contribute to good health, and beef producers with their Healthy Beef Cookbook can feel good about how they fit into that picture.

Cut #4         :23          Outcue: "...the dietary guidelines."

The Healthy Beef Cookbook is a collaborative effort between the Beef Checkoff Program and the American Dietetics Association. Coordination for production and distribution of the cookbook was provided on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

The national Beef Checkoff Program is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, a group of 108 beef producers appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture.  They represent producers from coast-to-coast and volunteer their time to help identify programs that can help increase beef demand.  The checkoff was created in the 1985 Farm Bill, with oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle and a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.