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- The Beef Brief
- Issues & Trends in the Cattle Industry
- National Cattlemen's Association
- February 1995
- Meat Is The One Food Group Eaten in Appropriate Amounts
- Americans eat too much of some foods and too little of others.
- The one food group eaten in recommended amounts is meat.
- A study by MRCA Information Services , an independent research
- organization, shows that on average Americans eat 2.2 servings
- per day from the Meat Group _ which is within the recommended 2-3
- servings per day. (Foods in the Meat Group include meat,
- poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts.)
- The MRCA study covered actual food consumption as well as
- consumer attitudes toward foods. The recent survey report is
- called "Eating in America Today/Second Edition" (EAT II). The
- research was commissioned by the Meat Board.
- EAT II showed that persons in all segments of the population
- overconsume Fats, Oils and Sweets, and they underconsume foods
- from the Vegetable, Fruit, Bread and Milk groups. Government and
- other health authorities recommend that we eat fats and sweets
- only "sparingly," but actual consumption is excessive. The EAT
- report notes that Fats, Oils and Sweets, eaten alone or added to
- enhance the flavor of other foods, add calories without adding
- other nutrients.
- While meat is the only food group eaten in appropriate amounts,
- many people remain confused about meat's role in the diet. Some
- people believe that substituting other foods for meat will reduce
- their fat and cholesterol intake, but, the EAT study reveals,
- there are minimal nutrition differences in diets between self-
- identified meat-eaters and meat-avoiders or vegetarians.
- The report also "documents the vast discrepancy between what men
- and women eat compared to what they think they eat," said Dr.
- Eric Hentges, director of nutrition research for the Meat Board.
- Here are additional EAT II findings:
- -- Both men and women greatly underestimate the numbers of servings
- they eat from the Bread Group and from the Fats/Oils/Sweets
- Group. They do not recognize the sources of "hidden fats" in
- their diets. Hidden fats in the Bread and Vegetable groups
- contribute more fat to our diets than do red meats and processed
- meats. Meat contributes fat, but it supplies large amounts of
- essential nutrients_ including balanced protein, iron, zinc and
- vitamins.
- -- Average intake of foods from the meat Group (including meat and
- other protein sources) is 6.4 ounces per day, or within the
- recommended level of 5 to 7 ounces of meat per day. Total Meat
- Group intake includes less than 2 oz. of beef and only 0.6 oz. of
- processed meat. Many people think their diets would be more
- healthful if they ate little or no meat. But, in fact, most
- persons eat appropriate amounts of nutrient-dense beef and other
- meats.
- -- Self-identified meat-eaters consume only slightly more meat than
- self-identified vegetarians and meat-avoiders. While vegetarians
- are sometimes perceived as eating low levels of fat, they consume
- about the same level as meat-eaters. Hidden fats in non-meat
- foods increase fat intake by vegetarians to levels comparable to
- those of meat-eaters.
- EAT II is expected to help educators in constructing healthful
- diets for Americans, Hentges says.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- Average Daily Intake Of Foods In the Meat Group
- Meat Group Ounces Per Day
- Beef 1.8
- Pork 0.7
- Processed Meats 0.6
- Eggs, Beans 1.3
- Poultry 1.2
- Fish 0.5
- *Total consumption per day, 6.4 oz. Not included in chart -
- lamb, 0.02; veal, 0.02. Sources: MIRCA Information Services and
- Meat Board.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- Slimmed-Down Beef Is Healthful Food
- "Beef is back, slimmer and trimmer. . . Today's leaner cuts of
- beef can hold their own with poultry and many other protein
- foods." This was pointed out in an article on modern beef in the
- University of Texas Lifetime Health Letter.
- The article compares the fat and cholesterol contents of lean
- beef with fat and cholesterol in lean cuts of other types of
- meat, including chicken and turkey.
- "The meat we're buying at grocery stores today is much leaner
- than what we've been buying in the past," says Felicia Busch, R.
- D., a Minneapolis nutrition consultant and spokesperson for the
- American Dietetic Association. "Lean beef can be just as low in
- fat as chicken, fish and turkey." She notes also that beef is a
- good source of iron and zinc. (Reprinted with permission from
- The University of Texas (Houston) Lifetime Health Letter.)
- Environmental Stewardship Award
- Wildlife Thrive On Idaho Ranch
- Wildlife as well as cattle thrive on the environmental award-
- winning ranch of Idaho's Bud and Ruth Purdy.
- Bud, 77, and his wife, Ruth, 81, were recently named national
- winners of the National Cattlemen's Association's Fourth Annual
- Environmental Stewardship Award. The awards are presented to
- cattle producers who use outstanding conservation practices to
- improve cattle business performance as well as the environment.
- The management practices that won the award for the Purdys
- resulted in improved habitat and conditions for wildlife _ to say
- nothing of improved ranch productivity. Much of the Purdys'
- environmental stewardship involves water quality and water
- conservation. Beneficiaries of their efforts include fish and
- wildlife. Wildlife populations on the ranch include ducks, geese,
- sandhill cranes, partridge, willasurd (water birds), curlews,
- eagles, elk, beaver, coyotes, fox, deer and antelope.
- The Purdys own and manage the Picabo (Idaho) Livestock Co., a cow-
- calf business that was started by Bud's grandfather 110 years
- ago. They were selected for the national award from a group of
- seven regional winners. Making the selection was a committee
- representing environmental organizations, government agencies,
- university scientists and cattle businessmen.
- "We want to do everything we can, on a voluntary basis, to
- protect the environment and the lands on which we live and which
- we manage," Bud says. "We feel strongly that it is the
- responsibility of the landowner to institute practices that
- improve the individual's welfare, the public's welfare and the
- environment. It makes good sense and economic sense for everyone
- involved."
- "When I first came, people weren't too concerned about the
- environment," Ruth says. "But, I soon found out, Bud ran the
- ranch so that it would last for another 100 years. Back then, we
- were doing this environmental thing, but we didn't call it that.
- We were rotating cattle among the pastures."
- Water management on the ranch incorporates work by beavers.
- Beaver dams have helped reduce spring flooding and erosion, have
- resulted in better distribution of cattle on the land, and have
- kept more water at the upper end of the ranch. To protect water
- quality and fishing, access by cattle to Silver Creek is limited,
- and stream banks have been improved. Trees are planted along
- streams to help lower water temperatures, resulting in a better
- environment for fish and wildlife. The overall effort has helped
- preserve gold-medal type fishing along Silver Creek.
- Sprinkler-irrigation systems were converted to low-pressure, and
- other steps were taken to conserve energy while pumping and
- distributing water. More than 30 pipeline systems are used to
- conserve water and distribute livestock over the range. More
- than 100 miles of fencing divide pastures and facilitate rest-
- rotation grazing programs. The Purdys have seeded more than
- 1,500 acres to legumes and other grasses. They have planted
- shelter belts of trees, and they have a tree farm of evergreens
- that are transplanted to areas of the ranch.
- What Is HACCP?
- How Does It Work?
- Discussions of food safety and government meat inspection
- increasingly include mention of the term HACCP (pronounced hass-
- ip). Just what does this mean? The American Meat Institute
- Foundation, as part of a basic manual on HACCP, provides this
- explanation:
- HACCP offers a modern, scientific approach to safe food
- production. The initials stand for Hazard Analysis and Critical
- Control Points. The HACCP system has been recommended by the
- National Academy of Sciences and other groups for use throughout
- the food industry. The system also is recommended as a basis for
- federal food inspection.
- HACCP is proactive and prevention-oriented. It focuses on
- preventing or controlling food safety hazards, including
- microbiological as well as chemical hazards. The system is most
- effective when used at each stage of food production, from farm
- to table. It can be and often now is used at the farm level, in
- slaughter and processing plants, in storage and distribution
- facilities, in retail and foodservice establishments, and in home
- kitchens.
- Under a HACCP system, a "hazard analysis" is conducted to assess
- potential safety hazards. Then "critical control points" (CCPs)
- are identified throughout the production chain. At any CCP, a
- loss of control could result in unacceptable safety risks.
- Companies following HACCP programs maintain records to track and
- document monitoring efforts. These records can be checked by
- government to verify that the company is carefully controlling
- its processes and, as a result, attaining desired levels of
- safety.
- Industry Has Blueprint for Safety
- The meat industry has a blueprint that can be used to help manage
- food safety risks associated with E. coli 0157:H7, a rare but
- virulent foodborne pathogen.
- The blueprint, which includes recommendations for both industry
- and government actions, was developed by a special Meat Board
- task force made up of scientists from industry and from state and
- federal government agencies. The scientists emphasized the "need
- to adopt a comprehensive 'farm-to-table' safety program based on
- science and risk analysis." Adoption of the recommendations
- would help reduce risk factors associated with E. coli 0157:H7 in
- beef, said Billy Lloyd, coordinator of quality assurance for the
- National Cattlemen's Association.
- In addition to making specific recommendations for control of E.
- coli 0157:H7 in nine segments of the meat production process, the
- task force made the following broad recommendations:
- -- Implement Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)
- systems in each segment of the food production chain. HACCP is a
- system to identify and monitor critical control points in the
- production process. The industry has recommended that government
- meat inspection be based on HACCP systems in plants.
- -- Conduct research to gain a greater understanding of the source
- of E. coli 0157:H7. After determining how E. coli 0157:H7 enters
- the food chain, develop strategies to prevent and control it.
- -- Encourage government approval and industry-wide adoption of
- antimicrobial rinses for beef carcasses.
- -- Support government approval and encourage further research on
- irradiation as a means of eliminating any hazardous bacteria.
- (Meanwhile, proper cooking is still the most effective means to
- eliminate any pathogens.)
- -- Conduct research to develop new pathogen reduction/intervention
- technologies for use at every stage of the process from farm to
- retail or foodservice.
- -- Implement national consumer education programs on food safety.
- While the industry develops and uses new technologies, it must be
- recognized that meat and other foods will never be bacteria-free.
- Education is necessary to prevent contamination in foodservice,
- at retail and in homes.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
- CHOICE CUT
- Per Person Expenditures For Meats*
- Meat Group Dollar Amount
- Meat $84.39
- Pork $60.39
- Chicken $37.02
- Fush, Seafood $31.42
- Consumers spend more of their food dollars for beef than for any
- other meat. (Data are for food consumed at home. Almost half of
- all beef is eaten away from home.) Source: USDA
- *1992, Spending by urban households.
- POPULAR FOOD
- Hot dogs are a mighty popular food. Data cited by the American
- Meat Institute show that U. S. Meat companies produce 1.5 billion
- pounds of red-meat hot dogs per year. Counting poultry-meat hot
- dogs also, the meat industry supplies 60 hot dogs per person each
- year. Hot dog consumption is highest during the summer. Hot
- dogs containing beef and other red meats are especially high in
- iron, zinc and B vitamins, as well as balanced protein. The
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration approved hot dogs
- for space program use.
- IRRADIATION PROPOSED
- Growing numbers of scientists have recommended that irradiation
- be OK'd for use on beef as well as other foods. The American
- Gastroenterological Association Foundation endorsed irradiation
- (similar in concept to pasteurization of milk) for use in
- destroying any foodborne pathogens in ground beef. Among other
- groups that have supported irradiation are World Health
- Organization, and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
- Nations. Irradiation has been shown to be both safe and
- effective.
- WE'RE GOOD GUYS
- Cattlemen are among the good guys in American business.
- Independent surveys show that consumers describe cattlemen as
- hardworking, honest and independent people who provide a
- necessary part of our diets. Consumers give cattlemen generally
- good marks on the way they produce beef and on the job they do in
- responding to consumers' wants and needs. In ratings of various
- industries, consumers ranked the beef industry ahead of producers
- of other meats and ahead of industries like autos, banking and
- chemicals.
- PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH
- Growth in productivity of the cattle business and other parts of
- U. S. agriculture is a major factor in the improvement of
- Americans' standard of living over the years. Americans on
- average now spend only 12% of their personal incomes on food (the
- lowest level in the industrialized world), compared to 25% back
- in 1950. Farm prices, after adjustment for inflation, are only
- half the level of 1950, USDA statistics show. The productivity
- increases result largely from mechanization, use of chemical
- inputs, and advances in plant and animal breeding.
- ANIMAL AGRICULTURE
- Animal agriculture continues to get high marks from Americans.
- Consumer research reported by the Animal Industry Foundation _
- which provides information on care of animals by farmers and
- ranchers _ shows that more than 90% of Americans believe it is
- okay to raise animals for food. More than 80% believe that
- farmers and ranchers routinely treat animals well. As noted in
- the past, it is in cattlemen's best interest to take good care of
- their livestock. It is not only the humane thing to do; proper
- care results in greater productivity.
- FAVORITE ENTREES
- Beef is found in four of the top six lunch and dinner entrees in
- America. Research compiled by the NPD Group showed that the six
- favorite entrees in 1993 were, in this order: pizza, ham
- sandwich, hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, steak and
- hamburger sandwich. It looks as though beef is a long way from
- going out of style. Furthermore, when you consider the trend to
- lower-fat beef products, you recognize that beef, with its
- preferred taste, is likely to remain a favorite food.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
- How It All Started
- The word "cowboy" captures the romance, the dreams, the struggle
- to tame the American West. But being identified as a cowboy
- wasn't always something to be proud of. Revolutionary War
- patriots used the term, contemptuously, to describe Tory
- supporters of King George III who would lure colonial militiamen
- into dense woods with gently tinkling cowbells and then would mow
- them down with musket fire. It wasn't until the late 1870's that
- the proud cattlemen of the emerging West gradually embraced the
- name cowboy and made it their own. By then, the cowboy was in
- his heyday, a legend in the making. And to this day, the term
- cowboy is applied to a man who works cattle on a ranch or in a
- feedlot.
- Ag Efficiency Spares Land For Wildlife
- Improving agricultural technology will help produce enough food
- for a growing population and, at the same time, save more land
- for natural or wilderness use in coming years. This is noted in
- a special report from the Council for Agricultural Science and
- Technology (CAST).
- The report was prepared by Paul E. Waggoner, agronomist at the
- Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station. Jesse Ausubel, The
- Rockefeller University, pointed out, "This study suggests we can
- have a better fed population and a greener planet. If we
- maintain our current rate of technical progress in farming, we
- can spare 30% of the land now used globally for agriculture, an
- area larger than Alaska, and still produce enough food for the
- world's growing population."
- The report focuses on cropland use. In addition, other
- scientists explain, grazing livestock like cattle can make use of
- vast amounts of land not suitable for production. About two
- thirds of the world's agricultural land is range and pasture land
- that can best be used by ruminant (four-stomach) animals like
- cattle.
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