News

Unfounded association between pork and flu proves costly

H1N1 and its impact on the pork industry is a central topic of discussion for those attending the National PorkManagement Conference in Ft. Meyers, Florida this week. It has been called a hiccup and a slight upset in the hog market, but Steve Weaver, President of the National Pork Board, calls the association made between U.S. pork and the H1N1 virus devastating to the pork industry.

An ad featuring pictures of Weaver and 3 other U.S. pork producers, promoting the safety of U.S. pork, is running this week in USA Today and the WallStreet Journal. Major newspapers will feature the ad on Sunday, May 10, 2009. More than $1.5 million of producer check-off funds have beeninvested in the past 2 weeks in an effort to educate consumers about the safety of U.S. pork.

Weaver explained that although there are detractors who have and will continue to tie H1N1 and other illnesses to food safety, you cannot contract H1N1 by eating pork.

Producers invest in the pork checkoff 40 cents for every hundred dollars of value that they sell. Weaver said it was crucial to have those dollars available to invest in promotion of pork and educating the consumer over these past 2 weeks.

Despitedifficult economic times in the pork industry these past few months, Steve Weaver is optimistic about the future of the pork industry.