Scottish red meat sector takes steps to defend its image
People working in every area of the Scottish red meat industry were urged to rally behind a raft of new initiatives to raise awareness of the excellent credentials of meat from Scotland. Following the success of the Scotch Lamb marketing campaign in autumn 2018, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) is launching several new campaigns in the coming months. The campaigns are to promote Scotch Beef PGI and Specially Selected Pork.
"Our aim is to collectively showcase all that we have to be proud of as producers of high quality, natural protein underpinned by world¬leading quality assurance schemes which make animal welfare a priority. There is a real opportunity ahead of us to unite as an industry to communicate our commitment to sustainable farming and, indeed, our morale obligation to produce nutrient-dense food source in Scotland from a land with abundant water which is ideally suited to converting grass into food," explained Katie Rowel, who recently took over as QMS chair.
Part of the campaign is a response to a series of "unbalanced, and very often totally inaccurate, media coverage", says Rowel. "As a farmer and vet, I am well aware of the challenges faced by our industry and equally aware of the dedication and sheer hard graft that goes into producing the nutritious food source that is quality beef, lamb and pork. Having spoken with hundreds of people in my first few months in the post I am also very aware of the huge frustration being felt at the grassroots level given the wave of unbalanced, and very often totally inaccurate, media coverage driven by some very well funded organisations with an anti-red meat agenda", she added.
Two different campaigns promoting the quality of Scotch Beef and Pork will be aired in the following weeks as part of a new strategy that QMS launched in May 2018.
Alan Clarke, QMS Chief Executive, said the organisation was in a strong position to support the Scottish red meat industry during this period of political and economic uncertainty.
QMS was one of a number of signatories of an open letter from members of the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership highlighting the “potentially catastrophic impact” of a “no deal” Brexit. Mr Clarke said the prevailing uncertainty is proving extremely challenging for the industry in terms of future planning.
“Given the sustained lack of clarity, maintaining confidence in the industry is a major issue, not least for livestock producers trying to plan a way forward.”
Mr Clarke highlighted real concern about the potential impact of Brexit in terms of trade, particularly of sheepmeat to European markets. Around 25 to 30% of total sheepmeat processing revenue in Scotland is generated by EU export market trade, with the EU accounting for 97% of sheepmeat exports by value and 97.5% of beef exports by value.
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