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In an effort to move more Indiana corn and soybeans to the livestock sector, the Indiana corn and soybean checkoffs invest in projects with organizations like the U.S. Meat Export Federation to move more U.S. red meats internationally. Recently, I joined Indiana Soybean Alliance members in Panama to learn more about those investments.
Lucia Ruano, a U.S. Meat Export Federation representative in Central America, told me that myths about U.S. meat, pork in particular, are obstacles they must overcome there.
“They are used to overcooking this type of meat, because they believe that in that way, they will not have any disease. Or maybe they think it is not a healthy product because it’s too greasy. Those are the challenges that we really face.”
That’s why education is key, and Ruano says that’s the number one goal for USMEF.
“We communicate to them how the animals are raised, what they eat, all the quality controls that these animals have before they go to slaughter and before they get into the packaging plant. And how everything is handled during that process to get the meat to these countries.”
And they do educate on how to properly prepare the meat. Ruano touted one project that Indiana farmers helped fund in Central America called “Girls Can Grill”, an event where a renowned female chef taught attendees how to best prepare pork and dispelled some of those myths.
“Since they are the ones that are responsible for giving the nutrition and the food to the family, we wanted to get to them and let them know all the good things that pork meat has.”
According to the Indiana Soybean Alliance, poultry and livestock feed makes up 97 percent of soybean meal used in the U.S. In Indiana, poultry and hogs are the largest consumers of soybean meal.