Dieticians Hear Encouraging
News About Beef's Diet Value

ATLANTA — Nearly 10,000 health professionals attending a key event here last week were treated to a generous helping of beef information.

Industry efforts funded by the beef checkoff at the 82nd American Dietetic Association annual meeting and Exhibition — the largest gathering of the nation's health professionals — provided dietitians, media and consumers with news about beef's convenience and role in a healthy diet.

The Beef Industry Nutrition and Health Committee sponsored two well-attended sessions relating to beef's nutritional values, an interactive nutrition booth, and one of the meeting's most popular dinners. During these sessions, the beef industry unveiled its new focus on convenience and nutrition through its new nutrition display booth. Health professionals and registered dieticians lined up at the beef industry booth where, for the first time, dieticians sampled new heat-and-serve products, including pre-cooked pot roast and shredded beef with barbecue. More than 3000 people enjoyed samples of the products.

A meat case also was set up at the booth, giving dieticians information on where to direct their clients who were interested in purchasing the heat-and-serve products. In addition, dieticians were provided nutritional information about the products.

More than 3000 registered dieticians ordered the new "It's All About You" kit unveiled at the meeting, as well as additional beef nutrition resource materials. They also received a reprint of the Parity Study, published last summer by the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study demonstrated that eating lean beef is as effective as eating chicken when it comes to lowering blood cholesterol levels.

"As a beef producer, this event is strong evidence that our checkoff dollars are being well spent," said Dave Bateman, a cattle producer from Elburn, Ill., and chairman of the Beef Industry Nutrition and Health Committee. "I wish more producers could see the reception that beef got here. It shows that our checkoff is working not only in the research area, but in communicating the results of that research to a very important audience."

Additionally, significant research findings about beef's role in helping curb the incidence of diabetes and heart disease were presented at the "Fatty Acids and Health" session. Checkoff funded research was presented that showed conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has powerful anti-carcinogenic properties. CLA is a unique fatty acid found naturally in red meat. Media featured those preliminary results on the evening news in markets from Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Detroit.