Working with Journalists from Across the Globe to Advance U.S. Beef, Pork
Working with Journalists from Across the Globe to Advance U.S. Beef, Pork
The media in key export markets for U.S. beef and pork play an important role in affecting consumer attitudes and shaping public opinion on these products. U.S. meat production has drawn increasing scrutiny in terms of safety, nutrition, animal welfare and environmental impact, and these issues are of great interest to journalists across the world.
It’s therefore more critical than ever that foreign media have firsthand access to the U.S. industry and are given factual information on which to base their coverage. With the support of the Beef and Pork Checkoff programs, USMEF is proactively hosting groups of foreign journalists to try to ensure accurate, balanced coverage of U.S. production and processing practices.
“We have all seen the damage that negative press coverage can do to the beef and pork industries, and we need to be proactive in preventing this kind of adverse impact,” said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. “The U.S. meat industry has a great story to tell to the world – from the farmers and ranchers who raise the livestock, to the exporters who deliver products to every corner of the globe. We just need to make sure we are getting the facts out instead of allowing critics and anti-meat activists to frame the image of our industry.”
USMEF recently hosted editors and photographers from two major consumer publications in Japan – Lettuce Club magazine and ESSE magazine – for a firsthand look at U.S. beef production. The group visited two Colorado ranching operations and toured a variety of retail outlets and restaurants.
Magazine editors from Japan learn about purebred cattle production at the Spruce Mountain Ranch near Larkspur, Colo.
“It was really quite amazing,” said ESSE Editor Yumi Iida. “I was born and raised in Tokyo, so I have never seen the huge open space of an American ranch. I also enjoyed meeting the families who live on the ranch and seeing how they care for the animals.”
Ms. Iida was also impressed with the wide variety of retailers available to American consumers, after touring Denver-area Safeway and Whole Foods stores, as well as a small specialty meat shop where she learned about the attributes of dry-aged beef.
“I never knew about dry-aging before, but this is something that will certainly interest our readers,” she said.
Women’s magazines are an influential vehicle in many global markets, which means shaping their attitude toward U.S. beef and pork is a high priority for USMEF. Last fall, two families from Japan enjoyed a similar, weeklong tour of Colorado's beef industry, sponsored by USMEF in cooperation with the popular Japanese magazine Saita - a monthly publication with a circulation of 350,000 that appeals to readers with a strong interest in family life, cooking and cuisine. Saita held an essay contest to select the winning participants for the tour, with a writer and photographer from the magazine accompanying the winners to Colorado.
USMEF also recently worked with two prominent South Korean women’s magazines to develop features on U.S. beef. Woman Chosun and Woman Sense each produced lengthy and very positive articles targeting a key audience – the homemakers who purchase groceries for family meals. The 33-page full-color article in Woman Chosun, which has a circulation of 50,000, provided an overview of the U.S. beef industry with information on cattle feeding, processing and inspection. Recipes for 16 U.S. beef dishes were also included.
U.S. beef is featured on the cover of Woman Chosun and in a 33-page article
The 12-page article in Woman Sense, which has a circulation of 80,000, featured U.S. beef menus from a number of prominent U.S. restaurants. The article also made the point that U.S. consumers happily consume the same beef that is exported to Asian markets – refuting an unfounded rumor that often circulates in the Korean media.
Bloggers are also an extremely influential source in tech-savvy South Korea, and USMEF-Korea staff recently conducted a cooking class and education session in Seoul for a group of 10 leading bloggers who focus on food, nutrition and cooking. The group was invited to a special hands-on session designed to dispel Korean consumers’ misconceptions regarding U.S. beef and pork, which included a cooking demonstration and a presentation by Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) President David Moody on U.S. farmers’ commitment to product safety and quality. The bloggers, who attract anywhere from 1,000 to 17,000 daily visitors to their Web sites, came away from the program with very positive impressions regarding the tenderness, taste and texture of U.S. pork and beef.
Business and farm reporters also represent a key constituency for USMEF. Last month, a group of Russian business media visited beef operations in Colorado before traveling to Nebraska and Iowa to learn more about the U.S. pork industry. Their itinerary included a meeting with Nebraska Pork Producers Association Executive Director Larry Sitzman, tours of the Iowa State University meat laboratory and swine farm, and a visit to the Iowa State Fair to discuss pork industry issues with representatives of IPPA.
Iowa pork producer John Weber (second from right) fields questions from Russian business reporters during the media team’s visit to the Iowa State Fair
IPPA President-elect John Weber, who visited Russia on a pork industry trade mission in 2007, was pleased with the level of interest and knowledge the journalists showed in U.S. pork production.
“I feel they were sincerely interested in what we’re doing in swine production and in our difficult economic situation, and I was impressed with their high level of interest in the pork business,” he said.
Sitzman agreed, saying, “I’m very pleased to have had the opportunity to meet with these journalists. They asked very challenging questions about our system of animal agriculture, as well as the wholesale and retail levels of the U.S. pork industry. I get calls almost daily asking me what we can do to restore pork trade with Russia, and if we all work together I think we can ensure that a solid share of that imported product is U.S. pork.”
Agri-business writer Richard Halleron of Belfast, Northern Ireland, recently visited USMEF’s Denver headquarters. Halleron discussed the current business climate facing U.S. livestock producers with USMEF Economist Erin Daley. He also received a briefing on the new duty-free quota for high-quality, non-hormone treated beef exported from the United States to the European Union.
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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.
For more information, contact Jim Herlihy at jherlihy@usmef.org.
USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discriminatin and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.
Working with Journalists from Across the Globe to Advance U.S. Beef, Pork
The media in key export markets for U.S. beef and pork play an important role in affecting consumer attitudes and shaping public opinion on these products. U.S. meat production has drawn increasing scrutiny in terms of safety, nutrition, animal welfare and environmental impact, and these issues are of great interest to journalists across the world.
It’s therefore more critical than ever that foreign media have firsthand access to the U.S. industry and are given factual information on which to base their coverage. With the support of the Beef and Pork Checkoff programs, USMEF is proactively hosting groups of foreign journalists to try to ensure accurate, balanced coverage of U.S. production and processing practices.
“We have all seen the damage that negative press coverage can do to the beef and pork industries, and we need to be proactive in preventing this kind of adverse impact,” said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. “The U.S. meat industry has a great story to tell to the world – from the farmers and ranchers who raise the livestock, to the exporters who deliver products to every corner of the globe. We just need to make sure we are getting the facts out instead of allowing critics and anti-meat activists to frame the image of our industry.”
USMEF recently hosted editors and photographers from two major consumer publications in Japan – Lettuce Club magazine and ESSE magazine – for a firsthand look at U.S. beef production. The group visited two Colorado ranching operations and toured a variety of retail outlets and restaurants.
Magazine editors from Japan learn about purebred cattle production at the Spruce Mountain Ranch near Larkspur, Colo.
“It was really quite amazing,” said ESSE Editor Yumi Iida. “I was born and raised in Tokyo, so I have never seen the huge open space of an American ranch. I also enjoyed meeting the families who live on the ranch and seeing how they care for the animals.”
Ms. Iida was also impressed with the wide variety of retailers available to American consumers, after touring Denver-area Safeway and Whole Foods stores, as well as a small specialty meat shop where she learned about the attributes of dry-aged beef.
“I never knew about dry-aging before, but this is something that will certainly interest our readers,” she said.
Women’s magazines are an influential vehicle in many global markets, which means shaping their attitude toward U.S. beef and pork is a high priority for USMEF. Last fall, two families from Japan enjoyed a similar, weeklong tour of Colorado's beef industry, sponsored by USMEF in cooperation with the popular Japanese magazine Saita - a monthly publication with a circulation of 350,000 that appeals to readers with a strong interest in family life, cooking and cuisine. Saita held an essay contest to select the winning participants for the tour, with a writer and photographer from the magazine accompanying the winners to Colorado.
USMEF also recently worked with two prominent South Korean women’s magazines to develop features on U.S. beef. Woman Chosun and Woman Sense each produced lengthy and very positive articles targeting a key audience – the homemakers who purchase groceries for family meals. The 33-page full-color article in Woman Chosun, which has a circulation of 50,000, provided an overview of the U.S. beef industry with information on cattle feeding, processing and inspection. Recipes for 16 U.S. beef dishes were also included.
U.S. beef is featured on the cover of Woman Chosun and in a 33-page article
The 12-page article in Woman Sense, which has a circulation of 80,000, featured U.S. beef menus from a number of prominent U.S. restaurants. The article also made the point that U.S. consumers happily consume the same beef that is exported to Asian markets – refuting an unfounded rumor that often circulates in the Korean media.
Bloggers are also an extremely influential source in tech-savvy South Korea, and USMEF-Korea staff recently conducted a cooking class and education session in Seoul for a group of 10 leading bloggers who focus on food, nutrition and cooking. The group was invited to a special hands-on session designed to dispel Korean consumers’ misconceptions regarding U.S. beef and pork, which included a cooking demonstration and a presentation by Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) President David Moody on U.S. farmers’ commitment to product safety and quality. The bloggers, who attract anywhere from 1,000 to 17,000 daily visitors to their Web sites, came away from the program with very positive impressions regarding the tenderness, taste and texture of U.S. pork and beef.
Business and farm reporters also represent a key constituency for USMEF. Last month, a group of Russian business media visited beef operations in Colorado before traveling to Nebraska and Iowa to learn more about the U.S. pork industry. Their itinerary included a meeting with Nebraska Pork Producers Association Executive Director Larry Sitzman, tours of the Iowa State University meat laboratory and swine farm, and a visit to the Iowa State Fair to discuss pork industry issues with representatives of IPPA.
Iowa pork producer John Weber (second from right) fields questions from Russian business reporters during the media team’s visit to the Iowa State Fair
IPPA President-elect John Weber, who visited Russia on a pork industry trade mission in 2007, was pleased with the level of interest and knowledge the journalists showed in U.S. pork production.
“I feel they were sincerely interested in what we’re doing in swine production and in our difficult economic situation, and I was impressed with their high level of interest in the pork business,” he said.
Sitzman agreed, saying, “I’m very pleased to have had the opportunity to meet with these journalists. They asked very challenging questions about our system of animal agriculture, as well as the wholesale and retail levels of the U.S. pork industry. I get calls almost daily asking me what we can do to restore pork trade with Russia, and if we all work together I think we can ensure that a solid share of that imported product is U.S. pork.”
Agri-business writer Richard Halleron of Belfast, Northern Ireland, recently visited USMEF’s Denver headquarters. Halleron discussed the current business climate facing U.S. livestock producers with USMEF Economist Erin Daley. He also received a briefing on the new duty-free quota for high-quality, non-hormone treated beef exported from the United States to the European Union.
# # #
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.
For more information, contact Jim Herlihy at jherlihy@usmef.org.
USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discriminatin and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.