The National Chicken Council and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) will educate more than 50 of the nation’s top food editors, writers, broadcasters, and bloggers about the role and value of chicken in the American diet during a Food Media Seminar Sunday through Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina. Topics include the nutritional value of chicken, trends in consumer choice, and the factors behind rising food prices. “The seminar gives the industry a valuable opportunity to connect with the food media and deliver important messages directly to the writers and editors who influence much of the commentary on food today,” said Nancy Piho, the consultant who runs the program for NCC and USPOULTRY.
Media organizations represented includes magazines such as Better Homes & Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Southern Living, Bon Appetit, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Family Circle, Redbook, Woman’s World, Relish, Weight Watchers, Nutrition Today, and others. Newspapers include those in Miami, Pittsburgh, Toledo, El Paso, Baton Rouge, Colorado Springs; broadcasters include the NPR affiliate in Miami; and Internet sources include Web MD and the blogs “Best of the Bite” and “CookinUpDreams.” “We have an excellent cross-section of the media writing about food today,” Nancy Piho said.
Bernard Leonard, NCC’s chairman of the board, will give a speech on “State of the Industry” and four top executives will participate in an “Ask the Industry” panel. They are Mark Hickman, Peco Foods; Jim Perdue, Perdue Farms; Todd Simmons, Simmons Foods; and Donnie Smith, Tyson Foods.
Presentations include “Consumers and the Retail Meat Case” by Sherry Frey, vice president of The Perishables Group, “What’s Driving Higher Food Prices” by Dr. Chris Hurt of Purdue University, and “Chicken Nutrition and the New Dietary Guidelines” by Colleen Pierre, a registered dietitian. Authors (and brothers) Matt and Ted Lee will give an interactive demonstration on “Chicken and Southern Cuisine.” The program also includes meals featuring chicken and to a tour of the Charleston Classics Tea Plantation, the only commercial tea plantation in the United States.
