One of the members of the National Dairy Board attending the Cattle Industry Summer Conference is Paula Meabon, pictured here with her husband, Randy. I talked with Paula about the new emphasis on beef and dairy working together.
She’s all for it. That makes sense since Randy is on the Beef Board! Talk about some beef and dairy collaboration and synergy. Really though she believes that the effort to bring the two organizations together for more collaborative projects only makes sense.
In my interview with her she mentions the Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition which both the beef and dairy checkoffs are involved with. She says that one of their goals is to keep their position on the food guide pyramid and that sounds like it takes good research.
Here’s a description of the Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition:
The Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition is a partnership that brings together leading scientific researchers, communications experts and agricultural commodities. Our members are composed of 12 food commodity associations that represent the five basic MyPyramid food groups.
We are dedicated to advancing scientific and market research to develop tools that make it easier for people to understand and incorporate nutrient-dense foods into their healthy lifestyle. Additionally, we support research to develop science-based and consumer-tested materials for use by health professionals.
The Coalition supports the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid and encourages widespread research and educational efforts that help consumers make their calories count more by enjoying nutrient-rich foods first.
Listen to my interview with Paula here (4 min): [audio:http://www.beefboardmeeting.com/audio/cisc-07-meabon.mp3]