Red meat challenged by pork and poultry popularity

MLA central marketing general manager Lisa Sharp said over the past few years, the price of pork had decreased by 17 cents per kilogram while beef had increased by $6/kg.

“We have a particularly interesting challenge at MLA to convince Australians why they should pay more for beef,” she told graziers during an AgForce beef tour of central Queensland last week.

Ms Sharp said the job for the next two years was keeping red meat as a staple.

“Red meat has had a 42 year decline, so we want to make sure we win these people back,” she said.

MLA’s Better on Beef campaign launched on radio and TV showed superior nutrition was why it was worth paying more for beef. At the same time, it produced posters, developed recipe cards and worked with butchers, health professionals and lifestyle media to spread the message.

When the recent WHO study linked red meat to cancer, MLA worked closely with nutrition and health experts, as well as the media, to ensure balanced reporting of the research.

Ms Sharp said extensive briefings were provided about the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommended intake and red meat’s role as an important source of iron and zinc in the Australian diet. “The key message of balance has traction in the community. Analysis of media reporting of the  study revealed a positive outcome - with 80 per cent of stories including support for red meat consumption consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines, helping to underpin MLA’s strategy and work in this area,” she said.

This week MLA launched a new website,www.mlahealthymeals.com.au, based on scientific and behavioural evidence. The site demonstrates how and why consumers should capture the health benefits of red meat – beef and lamb are critical natural sources of iron and zinc, vitamin B12 and omega-3 in the Australian diet, which are all essential nutrients needed to keep the body and brain functioning well.