Beef Buzz News
Beef Producers Trying to Produce Healthy Choices for Everyone, Roberts Says
Tue, 30 Jul 2013 16:40:04 CDT
Forrest Roberts, the chief executive officer of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association wears two hats: one when he represents the policy side of the organization on behalf of its members and, two, when he represents the checkoff organization side working with the federation of state beef councils and as a major contractor for the Beef Checkoff. In his various guises, Roberts represents all cattle producers of all types of breeding schemes and all types of production schemes. He doesn't pit one type of beef production against another whether it be local, organic, natural, or conventionally produced. All have their markets and they all have their value.
"We look at this from the sense that we're producing healthy choices for everyone. And it's not about pitting conventionally-raised beef product versus one that's natural or organic because they all have a place. But we feel like whenever there is a war going on about one method versus the other, ultimately the beef producer in the end loses because we have a consumer that has a sense of skepticism that is higher before the discussion started.
"So we look at this not from 'good versus bad,' but from the point of view that we need to look at providing healthy choices for everyone. And if they have a preference that is going to require a higher price point the knowledge, the understanding of why needs to be a part of the dialog. And we find that the needle is really being moved in the sense of trust that we are building with the influencers, the major influencers that are out there today whether they be from a nutrition and a dietician world or way back through a member who might be an influencer from a media perspective. And it's a formula, it's an approach and it's very hands-on that's working."
As for beef that is produced using the latest technologies, some consumers are suspicious. Roberts says you can try to help allay their concerns with science, but it takes more than science to fully explain.
"We have to count on not just science to be the whole answer, but we have to start with a strong foundation of science of what is safe versus what is not safe. And then when we follow from that foundation and build on it from there, what we're finding is that consumers just had an education or knowledge gap that was a mile wide and a mile deep. And once we bridged that first gap with respect to here is what is safe and here is the scientific and technical information that supports that, we tend to put that aside and now we focus on preference. And what is a preference that is not pitting one method against the other? And that's where it comes back to the ultimate, see, where we're really trying to produce healthy choices for everyone. And, so, that's the approach we're taking. Naturally there are a lot of questions around today's beef production technologies, today's modern beef production technologies. They're safe. They're effective and they're what we need to continue to feed a growing global population."
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
Forrest Roberts talks to Ron Hays about working together to properly inform consumers.
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