Beef Checkoff Toasts The Holiday Roast
Celebrated in song and literature, oven roast beef is an historic winter favorite

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Dec. 6, 2007) – The beef checkoff raises its fork in a toast to all Americans who love roast beef, particularly during winter months – and especially at holidays.  

Of course, cattlemen know that consumers’ passion for beef, in general – and roast beef, in particular – is long-held. In fact, the love for roast beef goes back to England, where roast beef has been a culinary crown jewel and symbol of the kind of hearty meal especially favored by the industrious middle class for centuries. Even the great cultural tradition of Sunday roast-beef dinners dates back to the late 1600s or earlier. It’s even celebrated in British songs and Shakespeare’s plays. And, according to one account, the famous British “Beefeater” guards at the Tower of London earned their nickname from the enormous rations of meat they received. In 1813, for example, tower guards received a daily ration of 24 pounds of beef per man.  

That, and all of the newer research proving consumers’ continued passion for roast beef, is why the Beef Checkoff Program is making the cut a focus of some recent promotions.  

“Roast beef is delicious, nutritious and elegant to serve, and it usually provides savory leftovers for another family meal,” said Cattlemen’s Beef Board member Loretta Broderick, who is a feeder in Missouri and a member of the checkoff’s Joint Retail Committee. “No matter the occasion, roast beef provides dazzling results with simple, no-fuss preparations.” 

During this year’s holiday season, U.S. beef producers can take pride in knowing that they promoted and helped to provide more than 72 million pounds of roast beef for the 2006 holiday. 

Rounding out the country’s other holiday favorites are:  

Beef Ribeye Roast Bone-In
Beef Rib Roast Bone-In
Beef Round Rump Roast Boneless
Beef Eye Round Roast Boneless
Beef Round Tip Roast Boneless
Beef Top Round Roast Boneless
Beef Loin Tenderloin Whole Boneless
Beef Ribeye Roast Boneless
Beef Loin Tri Tip Roast Boneless  

This holiday season, consumers are being encouraged to check with their local retailers and/or visit their checkoff-funded www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com for recipes, instructional videos and dozens of tips to purchase, prepare and serve the perfect holiday beef roast.  

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. 

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