2001 News Archive
Checkoff Reaches Millions of Youth about Beef -- October 1, 2001
DENVER, Colo. (September 28, 2001) – Educating America’s youth about the benefits of eating beef is one of the many ambitions of the national Beef Checkoff Program, which began 15 years ago. The reasons are short-term as well as long-range: youth are not only the consumers of tomorrow but, according to studies, are highly influential in consumer purchasing decisions made by families today.
“The checkoff has given us the opportunity to direct our message at a market that is important now and into the future,” said Scott George, chairman of the beef industry’s Youth Education and Information Subcommittee and a cattle producer from Cody, Wyo.
Prior to the checkoff, he said, programs to educate young people about beef were sold to the teachers and state beef councils that could afford them. The education program was focused on schools, not on individual age groups, the message to teachers and students was limited, and much time was spent merely refuting the claims of anti-beef activist groups.
“The checkoff allowed mass production and distribution of materials to help teachers across the country talk to millions of students about health, safety and other beef issues,” said George. “Distribution of these materials is now free to targeted age groups, although some are still sold for educational efforts outside the targeted group.”
The national beef checkoff program is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. The Board contracts with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to conduct youth education efforts funded through the program.
Checkoff-funded market research has helped narrow the focus of the educational message and to whom it should be directed, George said. Current research indicates that beef education materials should focus on a nutrition message for girls and a taste message for boys.
A task force of beef producers was created to look at youth education with the new insight provided by this research. The task force recommended concentrating on girls ages 8-12 by focusing on nutrition and body image. Now the youth education program focuses on these “tweens” (youth between the childhood and teenage years) through public relations, school, the Internet and working with local organizations.
The cornerstone of the industry’s first-ever youth public relations program is a spokesperson – teenage figure skating star Sasha Cohen. Much of her work for beef focuses on interviews with youth media and talking to girls about eating smart and staying fit. She also addresses young people in “Sasha’s Corner” on the industry’s educational burgertown.com Web site, which targets kids ages 8-12 with interactive games and activities that teach about beef. In its first year of operation in 1998, the site had 290,000 visitors. Also, teachers now have their own Web site on which to find beef industry materials, teachfree.com.
The industry has worked hard through the years to cultivate a future generation of beef consumers. For example:
· A nutrition information program called “The Munchsters” was launched in 1989 for preschool students;
· The 1990 “Be a Star with Kids” promotion, which included games, puzzles and beef recipes, was designed to help restaurants attract children, more of whom are eating out today than ever before;
· More than a dozen different teaching kits were made available in large quantities in 1992 alone. “Caretakers All” was used by third and fourth grade teachers to demonstrate how ranchers are responsible caretakers of both the environment and animals. “Mirror, Mirror” helped school professionals who deal with adolescents’ weight concerns;
· In 1997 “Fueled for Flight!” taught health and nutrition skills, while the award-winning “Fit for a King” was distributed to nearly 3,000 doctors and health educators to teach children and parents proper eating and lifestyle habits;
· In 2000, more than 105,000 teachers and 3 million kids were reached with reusable beef education materials.
Youth educational efforts continue, but the 15th anniversary of the checkoff gives pause to reflect on some important accomplishments to date, said George. In a nutshell, he said, since the checkoff began, many thousands of teachers have been reached with a positive message about beef. And even more importantly, said George, “Checkoff-funded educational materials reach, on average, 3-4 million U.S. students each year highlighting the beef industry’s positive role in nutrition and the environment,” and those students, more than anyone else, represent beef’s future.
Youth education programs are funded by beef producers through their checkoff and are produced for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
The Cattlemen`s Beef Board`s 110-member board is appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to oversee the collection of the $1-per-head checkoff, certify state beef councils, implement the provisions of the federal order establishing the checkoff and evaluate the effectiveness of checkoff programs.
Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen`s Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.
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Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen`s Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.