The Rural Voice, 1992-07, Page 57PERTH fig'
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
John Crowley, President
R.R. 2, Gadshill, ON NOK 1J0 393-6403
• The Rural Voice is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA.
TAKING A LOOK AT PRICING INFLUENCES
Our friends south of the border
have coined a new phrase for pork
which seems to be catching on. You
may have seen the TV ads, "Pork,
The Other White Meat", the line
reads and you think, "Why would
somebne want to describe pork that
way?" Why? To sell more pork, of
course!
Just this past weekend, my sister-
in-law, who lives in northern New
York, asked me if I liked the ads. I
admit that I didn't at first. They liken
pork to chicken in my mind. I have
always thought of pork as a red meat.,
more like beef than chicken, but
when fresh pork is cooked it often
does have a lighter colour to it. And
anyway, what is wrong with calling it
a white meat especially if the
consumer likes it.
Coming up with effective
advertising slogans is a job for
professionals, but promoting their
product should be a priority for every
producer. Whether it be encouraging
your friends to try a juicy, boneless
pork steak, having a neighbourhood
barbecue and serving pork burgers,
checking your local retailer's display
of pork products to see how attractive
it is, or supporting events like the
Market Hog Competition at the
Stratford Fall Fair, talking about the
merits of pork should be every
producer's passion.
Sometimes we have to go on the
defensive. There are many consumers
who feel that eating pork (for some it
could be any meat!) is hazardous to
their health. At the last regular
meeting of the Perth County Pork
Producers one of the members
brought to the attention of the rest of
us that a Presbyterian Church
minister in Stratford was using his
pulpit to promote his thinking that
eating meat is bad for us and bad for
the environment. The preacher's
arguments were apparently thin on
reason but delivered very
persuasively. It is a shame that a
clergyman is using his position to
further his own ideas; someday he
may be held accountable for straying
from the real purpose of his pulpit.
The upshot of this incident is that we
need to defend the production of meat
at every opportunity because there
are many vocal people speaking out
in favour of vegetarianism.
I recently gave a presentation on
pig production to a grade 1-2 class at
school. At the end of the talk before
leaving them, I emphasized that
killing an animal for food was really
no different than killing a lettuce
plant for food. Both are living
organisms; if they were not, they
would not be edible.
In 1987 a Nutrient Composition
Study on Pork was carried out by
Agriculture Canada. It found that
today's pork is 23 per cent leaner
than previously believed. A 100
gram serving of roast has only 7.7
grams of fat, 10.5 per cent of the
recommended daily intake. It
contains 31 grams of protein and is
the best dietary source of thiamin
(vitamin B) going.
And what about cholesterol?
Canadian Health Professionals
recommended an intake of
approximately 300 mg. per day. The
same 100 gram serving has 72.4 mg.
Even if you do not digest the
statistics, you can know that pork
eaten in reasonable amounts does not
represent a health risk. We are
fortunate in Canada to have some of
the best pork in the world. So enjoy
it!0
submitted by
Larry Skinner
UPCOMING EVENTS
September 24, 1992
Market Hog Competition.
Pigs have to be weighed on test July 1 — 4, 1992.
Call Ken Scheerer (273-0472) for details.
August 19, 1992
Perth County Pork Producers Golf Tournament
to be held in Listowel.
Details regarding fees and tee -off times will be provided in next month's
newsletter.
PORK PRODUCTS
AVAILABLE FROM:
Wayne Hartung at 291-4038
Alfred Young at 348-9352
Fred DeMartines at 393-6812
Martin Van Bakel at 345-2666
Dennis Zehr at 595-4771
JULY 1992 53