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Playbook of the Beef Super BowlWithin 24 hours of the completion of Super Bowl XLI, I found over 4,000 newspaper articles that were printed about the game. combine that with advertisers willingness to pay $2.6 million for a 30-second commercial and I believe that those of us in agriculture have something to learn about how to get the attention of our consumers. Last week the Super Bowl of Beef took place in Nashville, Tenn. It was called the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Annual Convention. At this time, I can find only two non-ag media outlets that have covered the event. One non-ag publication that wrote about the convention was the Grand Island (Neb.) Daily Independent. They had a story about how former Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns, now U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, addressed the impact of accelerated ethanol production and how it will impact cattle feeders through higher corn prices. The other news story that I found about the NCBA convention was from a Nashville paper. A representative from PETA was protesting the convention in the nude in downtown Nashville. The young lady was simulating a steak being barbecued on the grill. Of course something like this would be news worthy. Before I share my opinion about what we could and should have done to get the word out about our convention, I would like to say "thank you" to Steve Scott, a Tennessee cattleman that attended the PETA protest and was quoted in the local news. That is a great first step. Steve did not believe he should confront the young lady or do anything that would continue to fuel their mission of garnering press coverage. However, I believe they have all of the fuel they could ever need and unless we get right in there, look them in the eye and explain why it is we convert natural resources into human consumable products, they will continue to persuade people to convert to their way of thinking. I wish I had known she was there protesting as a poor, defenseless steak. We are at a time when far too many consumers in this country are getting only one side of the story. I would have stood right next to her with the largest fork and knife I could have found. We should have taken advantage of this golden opportunity and passed out information about why it is important that cattlemen continue to manage the natural resources of this country and why beef is an important part of your daily diet. Today at www.beef.org, our consumers can find direct links to beef production myths versus facts. This site also contains research about beef's contribution to good nutrition through protein and fat. In addition and probably most importantly, there is a link to ZIP4Teens where our nation's youth can learn about the importance of beef consumption as a great source of zinc, iron and protein. Research has indicated that young people who do not get enough animal protein and fat in their daily diets suffer in their cognitive development. I believe that this statement from Dr. H Leon Abrams Jr., which first appeared in the Journal of Applied Nutrition, should be publicized for everyone to read: "Humans have always been meat-eaters. The fact that no human society is entirely vegetarian, and those that are almost entirely vegetarian suffer from debilitated conditions of health, seems unequivocally to prove that a plant diet must be supplemented with at least a minimum amount of animal protein to sustain health. Humans are meat-eaters and always have been. Humans are also vegetable eaters and always have been, but plant foods must be supplemented by an ample amount of animal protein to maintain optimal health." I have not talked to one single person in attendance at the 2007 Super Bowl of Beef in Nashville that didn't agree that it was the best NCBA convention ever. What will it take to get the non-ag media to begin to come to this convention and learn about why the beef industry is a vital part of the future of this country? I suggest that it will take an effort similar to that displayed by the Bears and Colts throughout the season on their way to the big game. They hit their opponents hard every week and went for the touchdown with every opportunity they had to do so. The teams that didn't score as many points were at home watching the game instead of playing in it. I suggest that there are ways we, as beef producers, can score more points with our consumers and I believe we need to start diagramming those plays while we are still riding the wave of enthusiasm from the convention. Editor's note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.FacesOfAg.com, or e-mail Trent at trent@loostales.com. B 5 2/12/07 1 Star WK Date: 2/8/07
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