“A promise made is a debt unpaid.” This admonition is from Mike Rowe, the famous or maybe infamous, but certainly intrepid, host and voice over for both Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch television shows. Mike clearly acknowledges that the quote was his father’s life lesson for him.

For us procrastinators, the quote’s implied threat is a great incentive to do those things we have promised to do: like for me, plant the backyard shrubs, trim the front hedges, or fix the sprinkler system leaks, or a myriad of other things that I just haven’t gotten around to doing quite yet.

A promise we all should be making in this robust meat and poultry business is for the absolute safety and superb taste of the nutritious animal protein products we toil every day to raise and process for human consumption. Are we keeping that promise and paying the debt it implies?

Our consumers may think that because of the numerous and some would say onerous government regulations — plus the histrionics from the nascent cell-cultivated and plant-based “meat” companies or animal activist hyperbole — we are spurred to self-protection. They shouldn’t, however, as we aren’t. We don’t sit behind closed doors deviously developing nefarious plots to subvert regulations, nor do our raising and processing with only a profit motive as guidance.

It’s important to remind ourselves that as scrutinized and attacked as we are, however, it still is not un-American to make a profit. But then again, maybe I am just too paranoid as I furtively glance over my shoulder. How about you?

Such paranoia may cause us to tell our government regulators to “defend the shores, deliver the mail and stay the hell out of my business!” However, we know that just won’t work for long in today’s regulated, faux meat-assaulted and animal activist world, especially when our government opens its coffers for funding small meat processor expansion.

Are we our own worst enemy as we fight internecine industry struggles far beyond any competition driven tactics? What other industry pits its internal businesses against each other as we do?

And by the way, do other industries defensively promote their products from the standpoint of what they won’t do instead of what they will? Our marketing tactics, it seems to me, are just too defensive in nature and without the positive taste and nutritional promise that food protein products must imply.

There’s no doubt that we compete amongst ourselves for each’s share of the consumers’ stomach. We should be touting our products’ taste, nutrition and safety without discouraging consumers with implied dire warnings.

Is our most effective communication centered around what we don’t do, like “no antibiotics” as a majority of the chicken folks do? Or lectures like, “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner” as the beef gurus used to do? Or a depiction of the cowboy on his trusty steed gazing off into the sunset while the boys sit around the campfire eating beans and bacon? I hope not, as we are better than that and certainly more creative.

Do consumers buy animal protein just to feed themselves and their families? Well, I am sure that focus groups galore and psychographic studies ad nauseum have explored these topics. But does it really boil down to just taste (pun intended)? Frankly, that’s probably a major reason, as taste is usually the final arbiter in most food purchase decisions.

I have clamored for many years for our meat industry’s constituent companies to integrate their disparate parts from conception to consumption as the chicken folks did many years ago realizing resultant demand and per capita consumption growth.

I have also pleaded for a consolidated industry driven by a “Czar or Czarina” to collectively tout the meat products’ taste and nutrition benefits. This same Czar would also be the industry-government interface for arbitration and politization. Alas, I guess we are just too disparate within our industry to do so, or maybe hubris prevents us.

Can’t we all just get along to go along at least for improved consumer communication? That’s my rhetorical question for you, and my answer is a resounding, yes! We can vigorously compete amongst ourselves and with others while still effectively and positively attracting consumer take away of our meat and poultry products versus other proteins — animal or vegetable.

A Promise Made

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