Thu, 20 Oct 2022 13:44:50 CDT
Research is one of the three pillars for the beef checkoff, along with marketing, promotion and education. Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is visiting with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Senior Executive Director for Scientific Affairs, Dr. Mandy Carr Johnson about research efforts paid with checkoff dollars of the NCBA and principals focused on when prioritizing the needs of beef producers.
“We want to be based in sound science,” Carr said. “With each of these disciplines, we are really digging into a couple of areas, so in beef safety that is really looking at pre-harvest.”
Carr said a large focus of research is reducing the likelihood an animal will have a pathogen that transfers to food products and causes illness in humans. It is important to take action to improve safety on the food side, while the animal is alive, she added, while avoiding harming the animal.
“From a nutrition standpoint it really is critical to not only show how beef cannot be a cause of illness or disease like cardiovascular or diabetes but show how beef can be in a diet that can actually prevent some of these conditions,” Carr said. “So really showing that a healthy life all the way from early childhood, birth development, all the way through to healthy aging and how can beef play a role in optimal life- to making sure we have a great product.”
Producers work hard to produce a high-quality product, Carr said, so it is essential to ensure that any changes that happen across the supply chain regardless of place in the cycle ensure the production of a valued product that consumers can trust.
“Back in the 1970s, beef really was a target of being a cause of cardiovascular disease, and we have been able through the beef checkoff to commission research with individuals who are specialized in human nutrition research of clinical trials, so really looking not antidotally, but really strong research trials and publishing them and it being evaluated by the experts to say that actually, no, beef can be in a diet in a very healthy way along with exercise and other healthy lifestyle functions to be part of a healthy outcome and in many cases, prevent some of those diseases.”
Carr said research conducted on behalf of the Beef Checkoff must pass a peer review test.
“So, that publication in peer review is one of the critical components, and there are times when it may not show a positive outcome, but it is critically important that all that research is published in peer review so that as an industry we are very transparent in what those research trial outcomes are.”
Click the LISTEN BAR below to listen to Ron Hays and Dr. Mandy Carr Johnson talking about research continuing to prove the value of beef.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is 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.
Ron Hays Beef Buzzes with Many Carr Johnson
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