2003 News Archive
Health professionals can now access beef nutrition information in Spanish
DENVER (November 7, 2003) – Health-care professionals now have a more effective way of educating their Spanish-speaking patients about fitting beef into a healthy lifestyle, thanks to the beef checkoff.
Five beef nutrition information pieces — developed by the checkoff program specifically for health care professionals and widely used since 2000 — have now been translated into Spanish. These newly translated materials include consumer tips on healthy eating during pregnancy, childhood and the “tween” years, or young people between the ages of 8 and 12.
The new versions will be available on the checkoff’s website for health professionals, www.beefnutrition.org. State beef councils will also be able to to partner with national efforts to help distribute hard copies of the information to selected areas in their regions.
“The positive nutrition messages our health care partners have been sharing about beef have missed this important demographic,” said Om Sharma, a beef producer from Williamsport, Ind., and Cattlemen’s Beef Board member and chairman of the Joint Health Professional Influencers Subcommittee. “With Spanish-speaking Americans a key part of our population, we’re hopeful they too will hear the good news about how beef can fit into a healthy lifestyle.” The 2000 U.S. Census estimates there are more than 34 million Hispanics and Latinos living in the U.S.
Included in the consumer information materials are messages supporting the importance of healthy eating habits during all life stages and the contribution of physical activity to good health. The materials also describe the vital role of beef’s key nutrients – zinc, iron, protein, and many B vitamins - as well as the essential nutrients supplied by other food groups during the different life stages.
For more information on the beef nutrition materials contact your state beef council or visit www.beefnutrition.org.
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The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. The checkoff assessment became mandatory when the program was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988 national referendum vote. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.
Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the NCBA 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.
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