BEEF CHECKOFF NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAM IMPRESSES TEACHERS

CHICAGO (Oct. 7, 1998) – A checkoff-funded education kit first offered to elementary and middle schools last Spring continues to impress teachers, and is giving the beef industry another successful tool for reaching children with positive nutrition information. Teachers have exhausted the initial supply of 10,000 Fueled for Flight! kits and forced early production of new kits.

Fueled for Flight! uses actual astronauts and food and fitness experts to carry information on healthful diets to 5^th and 6^th grade students. The kit contains several positive beef messages, and reinforces the concept that there are no "good" or "bad" foods; that variety and moderation are the most important things to remember when eating for good health, and that some dietary fat is essential for survival.

The kit was developed with the help of teachers and tested with students prior to mass distribution, assuring that Fueled for Flight! will be well-received. All checkoff-funded education materials utilize educators in development to maximize usage in schools.

During testing with 5^th and 6^th grade students, the video dramatically improved attitudes about beef. In 1998 alone, approximately 300,000 kids will be reached with kits already in distribution.

According to Trudy Carey, a beef producer from Brandon, Fla., and chairman of the beef industry’s Education Subcommittee, the new kit maintains the industry’s reputation for high quality education materials. "As with all of our school education efforts, the information presented is believable and honest, while carrying the positive beef message," Carey says. "Teachers are finding Fueled for Flight! to be a dramatic way to teach about nutrition."

According to the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, which reviewed the kit and encourages its use by teachers, "Fueled for Flight! takes a standard lesson nutrition to new heights." Astronauts and scientists appearing in the kit’s videotape are excellent role models for children and provide credible testimonials to the value of healthful diets and lifestyles.

-- NCBA --

Fueled for Flight! and other beef education programs are funded by the national beef checkoff, which is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. This 111-member board is appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to oversee the collection of the $1-per-head checkoff, certify state beef councils, implement the provisions of the Federal Order establishing the checkoff and evaluate the effectiveness of checkoff programs.

Development and distribution of Fueled for Flight! and many other checkoff-funded education efforts is conducted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. NCBA is the marketing organization and trade association for America’s one million cattle ranchers and farmers. With offices in Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C., NCBA is a consumer-focused, producer-directed organization representing the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.