The national beef checkoff, thanks to the Iowa and Pennsylvania Beef Councils, sponsored the annual Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians CME conference recently in Philadelphia.
The academy’s annual meeting drew nearly 200 family physicians, residents and students from across Pennsylvania, for the three-day educational event. The conference allowed the checkoff to engage directly with this influential group of health care professionals to share the positive benefits of lean beef in the diets of their patients. Attendees enjoyed the Smart Start recipe collection, encouraging physicians to recommend beef as a nutrient-dense option for infants and toddlers through flavorful and nutritious beef meals the whole family can enjoy. Physicians also learned the importance of lean beef in the diets of variety of patients they counsel and how simple lean beef meals can be, with the new American Heart Association Heart Check-approved recipes. During the exhibition portion, nearly 60 attendees engaged with staff at the beef booth and 100 percent of those polled had a positive opinion of beef, stating either “The positives of beef strongly outweighed the negatives,” or “The positives of beef somewhat outweighed the negatives.”
After two full days of educational sessions, the physicians had the chance to unwind at the Checkoff-sponsored, 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off competition, with upwards of 50 physicians in attendance. Six different chili recipes were entered and featured at the evening reception where physicians could try each one and vote on their favorite. The ‘Killer Beef Chili’ submitted by Tammy Bonawitz of Geisinger Medical Center took first place. Coming in second place was Kurt Ehrenfeuchter, defending his champion title from last year, with his “Knock Your Socks Off- Texas Chili.”
The checkoff is thankful for our continued partnership with the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians and opportunities to build beef demand with their members.
“Hosting engaging events like the Chili Cook-Off demonstrates that when our nutrition influencers are more comfortable preparing beef themselves, they are more likely to recommend it to their patients as a nutrient-dense protein source,” states Jennifer Orr, director of Nutrition Education with the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative.
The Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians currently works on behalf of 5,000 family physicians, family medicine residents and students as a professional member-driven association. The Academy serves state physicians through acting as the leading resource for training of family physicians, being the primary voice of physicians on health care issues, setting standards for organized medicine and being a leader in the community on health care issues.
