The Florida Beef Council is continuing its efforts to educate and connect the supply chain from pasture to plate. Last week, they hosted a hands-on educational event, Beef 101, in partnership with Cheney Brothers, a leading food service distributor. The event took place at the University of Florida and brought together food service professionals, educators, and beef industry leaders.
We spoke with Deanne Maples of the Florida Beef Council to learn more about this impactful program.
“Last week we partnered with Chaney Brothers, they are a major food service distributor, to host a Beef 101 at the University of Florida and really that’s a hands-on look at the beef industry from pasture to plate. We kicked it off with a stakeout dinner at the UF Beef Teaching Unit and Dr. Todd Thrift gave a great overview on today’s beef industry, touching on those topics that everybody has questions about, animal welfare and genetics and sustainability.”
The second day of the event featured in-depth demonstrations at UF’s Meat Science Lab, offering a closer look at carcass grading, beef cuts fabrication, and food safety.
“And then day two took us to the University of Florida Meat Science Lab where Dr. Jason Scheffler led a discussion on food safety and Dr. Chad Carr then walked everyone through a carcass grading and beef cuts fabrication. We even got to grill and sample some different types, different grades of beef in terms of like grass finished versus grain finished. Really spent the day showing how science and the craftsmanship shape the beef that ends up on our plate.”
Maples emphasized the value of the program in building connections and advocacy for the beef industry.
“Programs like Beef 101 really help to connect food service professionals of course with ranchers and then scientists and educators and it really does a good job to highlight the care and the dedication that go into raising a high quality beef product and it helps us to bridge the gap. Those sales professionals are often our biggest advocates getting that great product we grow and then getting it to the consumer’s plate.”
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.
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