071226 Beef Checkoff Toasts The Holiday RoastDecember 9, 2007The beef checkoff raises its fork in a toast to all Americans who love roast beef, particularly during winter months – and especially at holidays. Of course, cattlemen know that consumers’ passion for beef, in general – and roast beef, in particular – is long-held. In fact, the love for roast beef goes back to England, where roast beef has been a culinary crown jewel and symbol of the kind of hearty meal especially favored by the industrious middle class for centuries. Even the great cultural tradition of Sunday roast-beef dinners dates back to the late 1600s or earlier. It’s even celebrated in British songs and Shakespeare’s plays. And, according to one account, the famous British “Beefeater” guards at the Tower of London earned their nickname from the enormous rations of meat they received. In 1813, for example, tower guards received a daily ration of 24 pounds of beef per man. That, and all of the newer research proving consumers’ continued passion for roast beef, is why the Beef Checkoff Program is making the cut a focus of some recent promotions. “Roast beef is delicious, nutritious and elegant to serve, and it usually provides savory leftovers for another family meal,” said Cattlemen’s Beef Board member Loretta Broderick, who is a feeder in Missouri and a member of the checkoff’s Joint Retail Committee. “No matter the occasion, roast beef provides dazzling results with simple, no-fuss preparations.” During this year’s holiday season, U.S. beef producers can take pride in knowing that they promoted and helped to provide more than 72 million pounds of roast beef for the 2006 holiday.
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