2010 Consumer Advisory Panel

The National Pork Board is proud to announce the 2010 Consumer Advisory Panel lineup, comprised of new expert and pork-passionate members. The panel is made up of thought-leaders from the culinary, nutrition, retail and pork industries. The group is designed to lend food trend and industry insights, and help the National Pork Board continue educating America about pork.

With varied perspectives, national recognition and regional roots, the seven participants make up a strong panel of experts:

Culinary
	Hosea Rosenberg (Boulder, Colo.), winner of acclaimed culinary television show “Top Chef – Season 5” and award-winning executive chef of Jax Fish House in Boulder, Colorado. Visit his website or check out his blog.
	Melissa d’Arabian (Kirkland, Wash.), Food Network TV show host of “Ten Dollar Dinners,” winner of the fifth season of “The Next Food Network Star” and mother of four. Visit her website.
	Jaden Hair (Tampa, Fla.) Discovery/TLC food columnist, Tampa Tribune food writer, television personality, food photographer, cookbook author and publisher of the award-winning food blog, “Steamy Kitchen,” complete with a 48,000+ Twitter fan base and is a leading expert on food and social media. Visit her blog.
	Michael Symon (Cleveland, OH), Chef/owner of critically acclaimed restaurants Lola and Lolita, chef/partner of Roast in Detroit, Michigan and chef/owner of Bar Symon and B-Spot, Michael has earned much attention through the years for his thoughtful cooking style. Celebrity Chef with several programs on The Food Network and The Cooking Channel, winner of The James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in the Great Lakes Region/2009 and proud Author the cookbook, “Michael Symon’s Live to Cook, Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen”, Michael is renowned in the culinary world and adored in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
Nutrition
	Mitzi Dulan, RD, CSSD (Kansas City, Mo.), nutrition and wellness expert, blogger, book author and team nutritionist for the Kansas City Chiefs Football Team and the Kansas City Royals Baseball Team. Visit her website or check out her blog.
Retail
	Pete Eckes (Bentonville, Ark.), Senior Director of Business Development for Walmart, merchandising beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb and veal to more than 1.2 million customers a week across the U.S.
Industry
	David Reinecker (York Springs, Pa.), Pennsylvania pork farmer, past winner of the Pork All-American award and recently named Mid-Atlantic Master Farmer by American Agriculturist and the Cooperative Extension Services (2010). He also is a member of the NPB Niche and Domestic Marketing Committees.
	Brad Greenway (Mitchell, S.D.), South Dakota Master Pork Producer, member of the National Pork Board and a recent chair for the NPB Domestic Marketing Committee.

Influential Trends in 2010: Industry and Experts Agree
Our culinary, nutrition and industry experts discussed predicted 2010 trends, and their relation to the pork industry, during a recent roundtable.

Dining In is the New Going Out – Family dinnertime and in-home entertaining – with inspiration from restaurant-quality flavors and preparations – are still on the rise, indicating an increased want for the comforts of home. In fact, 51% of Americans are eating dinner at home more often¹ and 71% of dinners are now eaten at home.²

For a bigger bang for the buck in the kitchen, look for ways to save at the meat case. Lean ground pork is one of the best bargains thanks to its nutritional value and versatility – it can be used for tacos, meatballs, casseroles, burgers and more. Other options include a whole pork loin, which can be cut into chops and roasts, and used in a variety of dishes. What isn’t used can easily be stored in the freezer for another night’s dinner.

Low Carbon is the New Low Carb – Increased education about sustainability is impacting purchase behaviors like never before. Many consumers are looking at making the choices of buying local food and foods produced under sustainable conditions and even growing their own food. ³

America’s pork producers have a tradition of environmentally conscious food production. They understand the responsibility that their farming choices have on the land where they live, work and raise their families, and continue to invest in the future with research to analyze their carbon footprint.

Animal agriculture creates only a small percent of the total GHG emissions in the United States, and pork production contributes to an even smaller percentage. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2007, only 2.8 percent of GHG emissions in the U.S. came from animal agriculture through a process called enteric fermentation (the digestion of feed by ruminant animals) and through manure management. Further, according to the EPA, pork production contributed only 0.33 percent of total U.S. emissions.

The industry is diligently working to assess pork’s footprint from feed to fork, including a research grant awarded to the University of Arkansas’ Applied Sustainability Center in 2008 to identify and measure the overall carbon footprint involved with pork production (to be completed in 2010). America’s responsible pork producers are committed to being good environmental stewards.

Old is The “New” New – Cravings for nostalgic flavors will also impact menus and kitchen cupboards in 2010. Chefs and home cooks are seeking a blast-from-the-past in retro and childhood comfort flavors including licorice, nougat, buttermilk, butterscotch, caramel, toffee, maple syrup and honey comb.^{4 5}

Thanks to pork’s versatility, many of this year’s hot flavor trends can be used to create rubs, chutneys, marinades, glazes and more, all suitable to nearly every pork cut available in the local meat case.

________________________
¹ Harris, conducted for Whole Foods
² NPD Group’s report on Eating patterns in America
³ Marion Nestle, nutrition and public policy expert, opinions written exclusively for the San Francisco Chronicle
⁴ Kara Nielsen, trendologist with the Center for Culinary Development
⁵ Nielsen, trendologist with the Center for Culinary Development