IN the PR world Friday is reserved for “taking out the trash”, sneaking out the bad news so no-one notices.

That’s why meat lovers were left picking their teeth over why Meat and Livestock Australia chose last Friday to launch its new website, the economically titled Good Meat. Surely good meat should go out earlier in the week.

Anyway, the platform aims to tackle consumer concerns working against the consumption of red meat, those feeding a global trend toward eating less or no meat.

They are concerns about red meat’s negative impact on diet, animal welfare, and the environmental impact of factory farming.

It seems, according to MLA managing director Richard Norton, that MLA has fallen out with consumers over these concerns due to a lack of trust – a market research buzzword ringing through the launch.

Transparency builds trust – see how our industry cares about the environment and animal welfare in the production of red meat. https://t.co/NvY5acXECt

— Richard Norton (@richardnorton_1) August 10, 2018

Good Meat though is built on MLA’s consumer insights and market research data.

For example, Mr Norton said the vast majority of consumers in metropolitan centres were confident in the practices of the red meat industry.

But at the same to time MLA data presented at the launch said only one in five meat eaters has a good understanding of the Australian beef and lamb industry.

Mr Norton said the website is  a direct response to the increasing interest consumers have in the provenance of their food and how it is produced.

“Good Meat will also prove an important tool for those producers looking for resources to help share their story, promote what they do, build consumer confidence and challenge misconceptions,” he said.

Good Meat has been developed in consultation with the red meat industry (beef, sheep and goat) which says the website offers “an open and trusted source” of information and demonstrates how Australian red meat is produced “sustainably, in high welfare systems and is an important part of a healthy balanced diet”.

The slick, expensive looking website is also home to a range of educational resources including study guides, classroom posters, lesson and activity sheets, virtual farm visits, digital lessons and online board games.

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Making Australia’s red meat industry carbon neutral by 2030

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