Checkoff News
Beef Running Team Promotes Benefits of Beef by Example
October 31st, 2009
ONLY REPRINT IF THE FOLLOWING IS INCLUDED:
Reprinted with permission from Livestock Weekly.
Beef Running Team Promotes
Benefits Of Beef By Example
By Colleen Schreiber
AUSTIN - The Texas beef industry has some new beef champions. They call themselves the Beef Running Team. They're promoting the healthy benefits of beef, namely through example, to other members of the fitness community.
It's a grassroots kind of effort that is, in part, the brainchild of Jennifer Matison, Texas Beef Council's head of consumer marketing, and Stacy Bates, TBC's registered dietitian and nutrition manager.
The concept itself, focusing on healthy food for healthy living, is certainly not new. It has always been top of mind with the beef industry, but they've reenergized their efforts in recent years. The effort kicked off in January 2008 with a new promotional campaign, "Discover the Power of Protein in the Land of Lean Beef."
In the past, the beef checkoff program split its resources between two separate campaigns, one focusing on beef's nutritional profile and the other on consumers' passion for beef. The newest campaign, however, ties it all together into one package, and TBC has been showcasing this nutritional message through consumer fitness venues across the state, including walkathons and various running events such as 3K and 5K races as well as marathons and triathlons.
"We bring our grilling trailer to an event and do what we do best - grill up beef and distribute samples, recipes and nutritional information," Matison says.
However, because funding is limited, TBC has only been able to do a couple of these events per year, and that got Matison and Bates to thinking about ways they could expand their efforts with little extra financial input. What better way to get that message out than to have health-conscious, active individuals, such as runners, promoting the message to fellow runners. That, more or less, is how the Beef Running Team, a team in training, so to speak, came to be.
Matison explains that it's a subtle promotional tool, perhaps even more of a subconscious kind of promotion. Seeing someone in a "Beef. It's What's for Dinner" running shirt likely gets people thinking and wondering and perhaps leads to a simple question from someone curious about just what that shirt is all about. That opens the door for the beef running team member to share the power of protein message or to at least tell where they could go to get more information.
Or perhaps someone sees a picture of one of the runners in their beef shirt on someone's Facebook page and the friend is curious and wants to know what it's all about.
"It's communication at the grassroots level," Matison explains. "Not only are our beef running team members influencing friends and family, they're also influencing fellow runners through their actions, and if the opportunity comes up, they have the chance to talk to them about how beef is a part of their diet and how it helps in their training, how the protein in beef helps build healthy muscles."
Team members must complete an hour-long webinar training course. Matison leads participants through some introductory material which covers what TBC does, where the checkoff dollars come from, and what they're used for. She also discusses the importance of nutrition education and how that aligns with the beef running program.
"We want them to truly be beef champions, so it's important that our running team members really understand what we are all about so they can share that message in an effective manner," Matison points out.
Bates follows up with a more in-depth discussion on the science, in which she focuses on some of the newer research with protein and muscle development, protein and diabetes, protein and weight loss, etc. She also goes over the fat profile of beef and discusses recent scientific studies which compare some of the 29 lean cuts of beef to other lean protein sources.
"These individuals are typically very up to date on nutrition information, but they don't always have a lot of information on beef nutrition," Bates notes, "and sometimes what they have isn't always the most accurate information. So it's always interesting to see their reaction when we present them with science-based beef information. Many of them don't know, for example, that lean ground beef is leaner than ground turkey."
Once they've completed the training, members receive their red "dry-fit" running shirt with the "Beef. It's What's for Dinner" logo emblazoned on the front. Triathletes can also get a tri beef shirt which they wear to swim, bike and run.
Additionally, team members have the opportunity to receive race registration reimbursement for up to 20 racing events in a single year. The race, however, has to be on the TBC race calendar. Most of the runs initially were relatively localized to the San Antonio and Austin area. However, since their membership has increased to include runners from a more diverse geographic region, the 20-event race calendar is being updated to include races in a wider locale.
"Initially we really thought that the race entry fee reimbursement would be a big draw," Matison said, "but we're finding out that it's not the main driver. They all really love being part of the team, and they're passionate about the beef message."
Membership has grown totally by word of mouth. Originally Bates and Matison put together a list of family, friends and industry people they knew were runners. There were about 50 names on that original list. The number of interested parties literally snowballed from there. The inaugural beef running team consisted of 154 members. They've since added 75 more, bringing the total to 228 beef running team members.
"The best thing is that we have everyday consumers on the team," Matison says. "In addition, we have dieticians, coaches, trainers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, a protein researcher, and some of our own cattle producers involved. We even have some high school kids that are beef runners."
One of the newest members of the team is Hollie Kenney, the former head cross-country track and swimming coach at Johns Hopkins University. She and her husband recently moved to the Austin area so they could train and race year-round. Kenney first came in contact with TBC through a TBC-sponsored luncheon in conjunction with the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure.
During that luncheon Kenney heard a presentation by Stacey Bates, TBC's RD, on the nutritional facts about beef. It really piqued Kenney's interest, and afterwards she approached Bates to discuss the subject matter more. Bates was pregnant at the time, and Kenney voiced a long-held concern she had about hormones in beef. Specifically, she wondered if it might affect Bates' unborn child.
"Stacy explained to me that there are only trace amounts of hormones in beef that are absorbed by the body; therefore, there's no reason for concern," Kenney says.
"Before, I was going to the specialty counter and buying organic beef or not buying it at all," she remarks. "Now I buy beef right out of the regular retail meat case."
Kenney had heard other things about beef, such as the claim that individuals who wanted to lower their cholesterol levels needed to stay away from beef. Through that first TBC presentation, Kenney learned the facts about that as well, and in particular, she learned about the 29 lean cuts of beef. Now Kenney eats lean beef three times a week, whereas before she was eating beef maybe twice a month.
Kenney is also anemic, so she was particularly pleased to learn that beef is high in iron.
"I was taking iron supplements and eating absurd amounts of spinach; I don't even like spinach," Kenney says, "but since I've upped my intake of beef, I haven't had any problems."
Kenney says she's been particularly pleased with how thorough Bates and other members of the TBC staff have been in answering questions and educating and interacting with her and others in the active, healthy lifestyle community.
Kenney is a 17-time All American triathlete. She's been competing professionally for several years and is, in fact, a six-time ironman finisher, with two podium finishes at the Ironman Hawaii World Championships and a top five finish at Ironman Lake Placid. When Kenney later heard about the beef running team, she was immediately interested. She has since recruited several friends. This will be their first season to compete with their beef shirts.
"A lot of people took a step back when we started talking to them about the beef running team," she admits. "They were like - 'The what? What does the Texas Beef Council have to do with supporting active, healthy lifestyles?' But, they soon learned."
Kenney says knowing the facts about hormones in beef has been the greatest benefit, and it is that tidbit of information, in particular, that she passes on to her triathlon colleagues.
"I like the fact that there are a lot of organic choices out there, but now I don't feel like I have to eat organic beef," Kenney concludes.
Dr. Doug Paddon-Jones, an associate professor in the School of Health Professions at The University of Texas Medical Branch, became one of the first members of the beef running team. Paddon-Jones, who is also a fellow of the Sealy Center on Aging, vice-chair of the Institutional Review Board and director of exercise studies in the General Clinical Research Center, is an advocate for protein. He has had an influencing role on other athletes through his research, which broadly focuses on muscle protein metabolism in humans and exploration of interventions, such as nutrition, to maintain muscle mass and strength in healthy and clinical populations.
"I'm a fan of protein, and beef is a high-quality protein," Paddon-Jones says. "It is also a natural choice because of its almost instant ability to promote muscle growth."
Paddon-Jones, originally from Queensland, Australia, came to the States on a research fellowship. He first became associated with the beef industry when some of his research was funded by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Since then, he's worked with the Texas Beef Council on several health-related events. He's a regular presenter at national scientific meetings and other groups such as the state dietetic board, where he promotes the message of healthy living through exercise and nutrition.
The beef industry, Paddon-Jones says, is doing a better job at getting the message out to the masses about the power of protein. It's a message, he says, that has become quite entrenched in men and women's health magazines.
TBC's Beef Running Team, he adds, is a "very clever, very relevant" way of promoting the healthy benefits of beef by tying it to a healthy lifestyle.
"We don't necessarily get other runners who see us in our shirts stopping and asking us about the 29 lean cuts of beef, but it is a subtle way to promote beef, because they're seeing people doing healthy things."
Paddon-Jones says the message he promotes is that everyone should have moderate amounts of high-quality protein three times a day, whether that's beef, chicken, salmon, etc.
He also plugs the beef industry's "Healthy Beef Cookbook." The cookbook, published in 2006, is a joint effort of the American Dietetic Association and the beef checkoff program which showcases more than 130 lean beef recipes. The cookbook also includes the latest nutrition information and cooking techniques.
Both of these efforts, the beef running team and the cookbook, he says, are checkoff dollars well spent.
Paddon-Jones, who believes in practicing what he preaches, has been an avid runner for many years. He and a group of friends, who are also now members of the beef running team, compete in the annual Texas Independence Day Relay, an event in which team members take turns covering more than 200 miles from Gonzales to the San Jacinto Monument in Houston. This past year the team received the Texas Throw Down Spirit award.
Christi Noble is the high school cross-country and girls track coach at Grapeland, which is located in East Texas between Palestine and Crockett. As a way to keep her kids running in the off season, she got them interested and signed up to be members of the beef running team. Christi and her track team members have competed in several area running events, and in that way they, too, are spreading the positive message about beef to other high school kids.
Christi's son, Wil, also took the concept and used it as a record book project. He won an award for his efforts in the Junior Fed Beef Challenge sponsored by the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
Christi's father-in-law, David Noble, who owns USA feedyard in Gruver, moved to East Texas several years ago. He and his son, Kenan, (Christi's husband and Wil's father) also operate a cow-calf operation, so promoting beef is second nature to all of them.
Tina Loeffler, upcoming president of Texas Cattlewomen, started a running group in Lampasas six years ago. When the beef running team got started, they all got on board.
"Before a race we used to get pumped up on carbs," Loeffler says. "This last race we ran we had a steak before we ran."
The Lampasas group has represented the beef running team in several five and 10k races as well as some marathons, including the San Antonio Inaugural Rockin' Roll marathon, which was really the first roll-out event for TBC's beef running team.
Loeffler, who is a school teacher, grew up on a registered Angus and Limousin operation and graduated with an animal science degree from Tarleton State University in 1994. At the moment, Loeffler and her husband are not in a position to be producers of beef, but she remains an advocate for the industry. Like the others, she sees the beef running team as a great new avenue, a new way to promote beef by associating it with a healthy lifestyle.
Richard Thorpe III, MD, an emergency room doctor and family practitioner in San Angelo, isn't a beef team runner, but as a beef producer from the Winters area as well as the chairman of the TBC nutrition committee and vice-chairman of the joint nutrition and health committee for the national checkoff, he is excited about TBC's sponsorship of a beef running team.
Thorpe is a big supporter of lean beef in the diet, not just because he's a producer, but because the scientific-based research facts support it.
"Beginning in the 1980s, the message that came forth from the medical community was that beef was too fat and was therefore unhealthy. It turns out that lean beef is extremely healthy," Thorpe says. "We have research that shows that if you eat a diet consisting of moderate portions of lean beef, which is high in protein, along with a diet low in carbohydrates, you'll lose weight, lower your blood pressure, and you'll lower your cholesterol and your triglycerides.
"So beef definitely fits into a healthy lifestyle. Cardiologists should be telling their patients to eat lean beef. There's no reason to go on a pure chicken or fish diet," he insists.
The beef industry, Thorpe says, is doing a better job of getting that message to not only consumers but to the medical community in particular. And, TBC, he adds, is doing their part as well.
"We sponsor lectures on this at the Texas Academy of Family Physicians annual conference; we have booths at all kinds of medical-related events where we pass out nutritional educational material. We also take out advertising in all the major medical journals; we've even sent information to their offices. So we're making a big push to overcome the bogus information that first came out in the 1980s."
In addition to fighting for cardiovascular fitness, Thorpe also understands another of the big battles the beef industry faces - the image that beef contains harmful levels of hormones.
"Almost all natural foods have some type of hormone in them," Thorpe points out. "We have tremendous research which shows that while the majority of the beef that enters the supermarket chain has been given an artificial hormone, the amount is so negligible that it has no impact at all. In fact, research also shows that animals given a hormone implant are much more efficient and therefore they have a smaller carbon footprint and less of an impact on the environment."
The 154 original members of the beef running team during the first pilot program year participated in 25-some different races. Some of the members have even participated in races outside of Texas, and while they don't get their registration fees reimbursed at these events, they are still out there spreading the message by wearing their beef running shirts.
Several of the beef runners have taken home top honors at various events; two beef runners received first place in their division at the Capitol of Texas Triathlon in Austin, and one beef relay team received first in their division at the Beach to Bay Relay in Corpus. And the 12-member team that participated in the Independence Day Relay won not only the spirit award but the best decorated award as well.
Matison and Bates recently oriented another 75 members, but there are still more on the waiting list. When budgeting allows, those on the waiting list will be next.
There is a special link on the TBC website as well as a Facebook page for the beef runners to post race pictures and communicate and network not only with the beef industry but with fellow beef runners. Matison hopes to build on the website platform by adding new elements, such as a nutrition tip of the week, for example. Bates also hopes to grow the program by getting some of the members of the beef running team involved in, for example, a walk/run benefit for the American Diabetes Association, another group with which Bates works closely.
"We have some great new research that highlights how beef, included in an overall healthy diet, may be beneficial for those living with diabetes," she notes.
"Having our beef runners involved in this particular benefit is just another way to let people know that beef is not just good for those with active lifestyles, but it can fit into many different lifestyles to help promote optimal health.
"My main goal is education," Bates continues. "It's what I strive to do in every area of my program, whether it be with the American Heart Association, the American Dietetic Association or the American Diabetes Association. I hope to educate every person I come in contact with to dispel the myths about beef and showcase how it fits into a healthy diet and lifestyle."
Reprinted with permission from Livestock Weekly.
Beef Running Team Promotes
Benefits Of Beef By Example
By Colleen Schreiber
AUSTIN - The Texas beef industry has some new beef champions. They call themselves the Beef Running Team. They're promoting the healthy benefits of beef, namely through example, to other members of the fitness community.
It's a grassroots kind of effort that is, in part, the brainchild of Jennifer Matison, Texas Beef Council's head of consumer marketing, and Stacy Bates, TBC's registered dietitian and nutrition manager.
The concept itself, focusing on healthy food for healthy living, is certainly not new. It has always been top of mind with the beef industry, but they've reenergized their efforts in recent years. The effort kicked off in January 2008 with a new promotional campaign, "Discover the Power of Protein in the Land of Lean Beef."
In the past, the beef checkoff program split its resources between two separate campaigns, one focusing on beef's nutritional profile and the other on consumers' passion for beef. The newest campaign, however, ties it all together into one package, and TBC has been showcasing this nutritional message through consumer fitness venues across the state, including walkathons and various running events such as 3K and 5K races as well as marathons and triathlons.
"We bring our grilling trailer to an event and do what we do best - grill up beef and distribute samples, recipes and nutritional information," Matison says.
However, because funding is limited, TBC has only been able to do a couple of these events per year, and that got Matison and Bates to thinking about ways they could expand their efforts with little extra financial input. What better way to get that message out than to have health-conscious, active individuals, such as runners, promoting the message to fellow runners. That, more or less, is how the Beef Running Team, a team in training, so to speak, came to be.
Matison explains that it's a subtle promotional tool, perhaps even more of a subconscious kind of promotion. Seeing someone in a "Beef. It's What's for Dinner" running shirt likely gets people thinking and wondering and perhaps leads to a simple question from someone curious about just what that shirt is all about. That opens the door for the beef running team member to share the power of protein message or to at least tell where they could go to get more information.
Or perhaps someone sees a picture of one of the runners in their beef shirt on someone's Facebook page and the friend is curious and wants to know what it's all about.
"It's communication at the grassroots level," Matison explains. "Not only are our beef running team members influencing friends and family, they're also influencing fellow runners through their actions, and if the opportunity comes up, they have the chance to talk to them about how beef is a part of their diet and how it helps in their training, how the protein in beef helps build healthy muscles."
Team members must complete an hour-long webinar training course. Matison leads participants through some introductory material which covers what TBC does, where the checkoff dollars come from, and what they're used for. She also discusses the importance of nutrition education and how that aligns with the beef running program.
"We want them to truly be beef champions, so it's important that our running team members really understand what we are all about so they can share that message in an effective manner," Matison points out.
Bates follows up with a more in-depth discussion on the science, in which she focuses on some of the newer research with protein and muscle development, protein and diabetes, protein and weight loss, etc. She also goes over the fat profile of beef and discusses recent scientific studies which compare some of the 29 lean cuts of beef to other lean protein sources.
"These individuals are typically very up to date on nutrition information, but they don't always have a lot of information on beef nutrition," Bates notes, "and sometimes what they have isn't always the most accurate information. So it's always interesting to see their reaction when we present them with science-based beef information. Many of them don't know, for example, that lean ground beef is leaner than ground turkey."
Once they've completed the training, members receive their red "dry-fit" running shirt with the "Beef. It's What's for Dinner" logo emblazoned on the front. Triathletes can also get a tri beef shirt which they wear to swim, bike and run.
Additionally, team members have the opportunity to receive race registration reimbursement for up to 20 racing events in a single year. The race, however, has to be on the TBC race calendar. Most of the runs initially were relatively localized to the San Antonio and Austin area. However, since their membership has increased to include runners from a more diverse geographic region, the 20-event race calendar is being updated to include races in a wider locale.
"Initially we really thought that the race entry fee reimbursement would be a big draw," Matison said, "but we're finding out that it's not the main driver. They all really love being part of the team, and they're passionate about the beef message."
Membership has grown totally by word of mouth. Originally Bates and Matison put together a list of family, friends and industry people they knew were runners. There were about 50 names on that original list. The number of interested parties literally snowballed from there. The inaugural beef running team consisted of 154 members. They've since added 75 more, bringing the total to 228 beef running team members.
"The best thing is that we have everyday consumers on the team," Matison says. "In addition, we have dieticians, coaches, trainers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, a protein researcher, and some of our own cattle producers involved. We even have some high school kids that are beef runners."
One of the newest members of the team is Hollie Kenney, the former head cross-country track and swimming coach at Johns Hopkins University. She and her husband recently moved to the Austin area so they could train and race year-round. Kenney first came in contact with TBC through a TBC-sponsored luncheon in conjunction with the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure.
During that luncheon Kenney heard a presentation by Stacey Bates, TBC's RD, on the nutritional facts about beef. It really piqued Kenney's interest, and afterwards she approached Bates to discuss the subject matter more. Bates was pregnant at the time, and Kenney voiced a long-held concern she had about hormones in beef. Specifically, she wondered if it might affect Bates' unborn child.
"Stacy explained to me that there are only trace amounts of hormones in beef that are absorbed by the body; therefore, there's no reason for concern," Kenney says.
"Before, I was going to the specialty counter and buying organic beef or not buying it at all," she remarks. "Now I buy beef right out of the regular retail meat case."
Kenney had heard other things about beef, such as the claim that individuals who wanted to lower their cholesterol levels needed to stay away from beef. Through that first TBC presentation, Kenney learned the facts about that as well, and in particular, she learned about the 29 lean cuts of beef. Now Kenney eats lean beef three times a week, whereas before she was eating beef maybe twice a month.
Kenney is also anemic, so she was particularly pleased to learn that beef is high in iron.
"I was taking iron supplements and eating absurd amounts of spinach; I don't even like spinach," Kenney says, "but since I've upped my intake of beef, I haven't had any problems."
Kenney says she's been particularly pleased with how thorough Bates and other members of the TBC staff have been in answering questions and educating and interacting with her and others in the active, healthy lifestyle community.
Kenney is a 17-time All American triathlete. She's been competing professionally for several years and is, in fact, a six-time ironman finisher, with two podium finishes at the Ironman Hawaii World Championships and a top five finish at Ironman Lake Placid. When Kenney later heard about the beef running team, she was immediately interested. She has since recruited several friends. This will be their first season to compete with their beef shirts.
"A lot of people took a step back when we started talking to them about the beef running team," she admits. "They were like - 'The what? What does the Texas Beef Council have to do with supporting active, healthy lifestyles?' But, they soon learned."
Kenney says knowing the facts about hormones in beef has been the greatest benefit, and it is that tidbit of information, in particular, that she passes on to her triathlon colleagues.
"I like the fact that there are a lot of organic choices out there, but now I don't feel like I have to eat organic beef," Kenney concludes.
Dr. Doug Paddon-Jones, an associate professor in the School of Health Professions at The University of Texas Medical Branch, became one of the first members of the beef running team. Paddon-Jones, who is also a fellow of the Sealy Center on Aging, vice-chair of the Institutional Review Board and director of exercise studies in the General Clinical Research Center, is an advocate for protein. He has had an influencing role on other athletes through his research, which broadly focuses on muscle protein metabolism in humans and exploration of interventions, such as nutrition, to maintain muscle mass and strength in healthy and clinical populations.
"I'm a fan of protein, and beef is a high-quality protein," Paddon-Jones says. "It is also a natural choice because of its almost instant ability to promote muscle growth."
Paddon-Jones, originally from Queensland, Australia, came to the States on a research fellowship. He first became associated with the beef industry when some of his research was funded by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Since then, he's worked with the Texas Beef Council on several health-related events. He's a regular presenter at national scientific meetings and other groups such as the state dietetic board, where he promotes the message of healthy living through exercise and nutrition.
The beef industry, Paddon-Jones says, is doing a better job at getting the message out to the masses about the power of protein. It's a message, he says, that has become quite entrenched in men and women's health magazines.
TBC's Beef Running Team, he adds, is a "very clever, very relevant" way of promoting the healthy benefits of beef by tying it to a healthy lifestyle.
"We don't necessarily get other runners who see us in our shirts stopping and asking us about the 29 lean cuts of beef, but it is a subtle way to promote beef, because they're seeing people doing healthy things."
Paddon-Jones says the message he promotes is that everyone should have moderate amounts of high-quality protein three times a day, whether that's beef, chicken, salmon, etc.
He also plugs the beef industry's "Healthy Beef Cookbook." The cookbook, published in 2006, is a joint effort of the American Dietetic Association and the beef checkoff program which showcases more than 130 lean beef recipes. The cookbook also includes the latest nutrition information and cooking techniques.
Both of these efforts, the beef running team and the cookbook, he says, are checkoff dollars well spent.
Paddon-Jones, who believes in practicing what he preaches, has been an avid runner for many years. He and a group of friends, who are also now members of the beef running team, compete in the annual Texas Independence Day Relay, an event in which team members take turns covering more than 200 miles from Gonzales to the San Jacinto Monument in Houston. This past year the team received the Texas Throw Down Spirit award.
Christi Noble is the high school cross-country and girls track coach at Grapeland, which is located in East Texas between Palestine and Crockett. As a way to keep her kids running in the off season, she got them interested and signed up to be members of the beef running team. Christi and her track team members have competed in several area running events, and in that way they, too, are spreading the positive message about beef to other high school kids.
Christi's son, Wil, also took the concept and used it as a record book project. He won an award for his efforts in the Junior Fed Beef Challenge sponsored by the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
Christi's father-in-law, David Noble, who owns USA feedyard in Gruver, moved to East Texas several years ago. He and his son, Kenan, (Christi's husband and Wil's father) also operate a cow-calf operation, so promoting beef is second nature to all of them.
Tina Loeffler, upcoming president of Texas Cattlewomen, started a running group in Lampasas six years ago. When the beef running team got started, they all got on board.
"Before a race we used to get pumped up on carbs," Loeffler says. "This last race we ran we had a steak before we ran."
The Lampasas group has represented the beef running team in several five and 10k races as well as some marathons, including the San Antonio Inaugural Rockin' Roll marathon, which was really the first roll-out event for TBC's beef running team.
Loeffler, who is a school teacher, grew up on a registered Angus and Limousin operation and graduated with an animal science degree from Tarleton State University in 1994. At the moment, Loeffler and her husband are not in a position to be producers of beef, but she remains an advocate for the industry. Like the others, she sees the beef running team as a great new avenue, a new way to promote beef by associating it with a healthy lifestyle.
Richard Thorpe III, MD, an emergency room doctor and family practitioner in San Angelo, isn't a beef team runner, but as a beef producer from the Winters area as well as the chairman of the TBC nutrition committee and vice-chairman of the joint nutrition and health committee for the national checkoff, he is excited about TBC's sponsorship of a beef running team.
Thorpe is a big supporter of lean beef in the diet, not just because he's a producer, but because the scientific-based research facts support it.
"Beginning in the 1980s, the message that came forth from the medical community was that beef was too fat and was therefore unhealthy. It turns out that lean beef is extremely healthy," Thorpe says. "We have research that shows that if you eat a diet consisting of moderate portions of lean beef, which is high in protein, along with a diet low in carbohydrates, you'll lose weight, lower your blood pressure, and you'll lower your cholesterol and your triglycerides.
"So beef definitely fits into a healthy lifestyle. Cardiologists should be telling their patients to eat lean beef. There's no reason to go on a pure chicken or fish diet," he insists.
The beef industry, Thorpe says, is doing a better job of getting that message to not only consumers but to the medical community in particular. And, TBC, he adds, is doing their part as well.
"We sponsor lectures on this at the Texas Academy of Family Physicians annual conference; we have booths at all kinds of medical-related events where we pass out nutritional educational material. We also take out advertising in all the major medical journals; we've even sent information to their offices. So we're making a big push to overcome the bogus information that first came out in the 1980s."
In addition to fighting for cardiovascular fitness, Thorpe also understands another of the big battles the beef industry faces - the image that beef contains harmful levels of hormones.
"Almost all natural foods have some type of hormone in them," Thorpe points out. "We have tremendous research which shows that while the majority of the beef that enters the supermarket chain has been given an artificial hormone, the amount is so negligible that it has no impact at all. In fact, research also shows that animals given a hormone implant are much more efficient and therefore they have a smaller carbon footprint and less of an impact on the environment."
The 154 original members of the beef running team during the first pilot program year participated in 25-some different races. Some of the members have even participated in races outside of Texas, and while they don't get their registration fees reimbursed at these events, they are still out there spreading the message by wearing their beef running shirts.
Several of the beef runners have taken home top honors at various events; two beef runners received first place in their division at the Capitol of Texas Triathlon in Austin, and one beef relay team received first in their division at the Beach to Bay Relay in Corpus. And the 12-member team that participated in the Independence Day Relay won not only the spirit award but the best decorated award as well.
Matison and Bates recently oriented another 75 members, but there are still more on the waiting list. When budgeting allows, those on the waiting list will be next.
There is a special link on the TBC website as well as a Facebook page for the beef runners to post race pictures and communicate and network not only with the beef industry but with fellow beef runners. Matison hopes to build on the website platform by adding new elements, such as a nutrition tip of the week, for example. Bates also hopes to grow the program by getting some of the members of the beef running team involved in, for example, a walk/run benefit for the American Diabetes Association, another group with which Bates works closely.
"We have some great new research that highlights how beef, included in an overall healthy diet, may be beneficial for those living with diabetes," she notes.
"Having our beef runners involved in this particular benefit is just another way to let people know that beef is not just good for those with active lifestyles, but it can fit into many different lifestyles to help promote optimal health.
"My main goal is education," Bates continues. "It's what I strive to do in every area of my program, whether it be with the American Heart Association, the American Dietetic Association or the American Diabetes Association. I hope to educate every person I come in contact with to dispel the myths about beef and showcase how it fits into a healthy diet and lifestyle."
Texas Beef Council Contact:
Erin Johnston
(512) 335-2333
Erin Johnston
(512) 335-2333
