Millions Hear Why Beef Takes You "Back to Basics"

More than one-fourth of all Texans recently received advice about beef's vital nutritional role thanks to a partnership called "Back to Basics" between the Texas Dietetic Association (TDA) and the Texas Beef Council (TBC).

"Back to Basics" involved a two-month media campaign funded through the $1 per head beef checkoff program. During the campaign, TDA's registered dietitian members conducted interviews with reporters and talk show hosts throughout Texas that emphasized beef's positive role in balanced diets.

In all, the dietitians conducted 153 interviews in major and secondary Texas media markets. Their message impacted 5.2 million Texans, according to an independent media survey.

In the interviews, TDA's member dietitians explained that basic foods like beef are essential to the human diet. On the other hand, fad diets that eliminate these basic foods deprive humans of important nutritional variety.

"The beef industry benefits when professional health groups give our message," said Burt Richards, an auction market operator at Buffalo, Texas, and a member of TBC's communications committee. "Their expert advice about beef gains the respect and attention of the viewers and listeners. And we can thank the beef checkoff for providing us with the facts and research that convinces professional health groups to make such positive claims."

Since 1988, the $1 per head beef checkoff has funded programs of promotion and education about beef for consumers and major influencers of consumers including health professionals.

"Before the beef checkoff, we couldn't tell our story," Richards said. "With it, we are convincing people of beef's positive nutritional role in every diet."

In the "Back to Basics" campaign, the professional dietitians told Texans that beef is a more efficient source of certain nutrients than vegetables. For instance, it takes 10 1/2 cups of raw broccoli or 21 cups of corn to provide the same amount of absorbable iron as a three ounce serving of cooked sirloin. They also pointed out that iron is essential to all population groups, especially women in various stages of life.

In the "Back to Basics" interviews, the dietitians also attacked the fat issue. They said that eliminating all fat from the diet was harmful to human health. Fat, they said, transports vitamins and keeps human skin healthy.

The American Dietetic Association recommends 65 grams of fat as the daily requirement for any adult on a 2,000 calorie per day diet. What matters is how that adult consumers the fat.

To illustrate that point in television interviews, the professional dietitians pointed to a four ounce blueberry muffin that contains 22 grams of fat and a three ounce serving of lean beef, loaded with iron, zinc and other nutrients, that contains just 6.4 grams of fat.

Richards said viewers who witnessed that comparison understood the value of choosing healthy foods like beef to round out a balanced diet.

"The Back to Basics campaign was important for the beef industry," Richards said. "It builds on our strengths, which is nutrition, while correcting the misconceptions that consumers hold about beef."

In addition to the individual station interviews, the "Back to Basics" story also was picked up by three statewide radio networks.