Plans to boost the international branding of Wales’ sustainable red meat products were unveiled by HCC chair Catherine Smith at the Royal Welsh Show on Monday 24th July 2023.
Smith explained that HCC continues to operate in a crowded consumer marketplace, where red meat products are “surrounded by confusing claims and counter claims, and where our honesty is heckled by misinformed or misguided activists.”
She declared: “This has to stop: it’s time to put some clear, transparent water between ourselves and the intensive farming practices of some global competitors.”
Smith spoke to Wales' industry representatives at the annual HCC breakfast event at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show at Llanelwedd. She advocated a collective industry commitment to further build on the efforts of Wales’ farmers, saying that HCC was building clear and compelling evidence to fully substantiate all assertions that the production of Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef was a global exemplar.
“We can show the world that Welsh food and farming is not just what we do – it’s who we are,” she said.
Planning ahead
When speaking about priorities and plans to build on its evidence base, she referred to HCC’s Red Meat Development Programme which is nearing completion after five years of activity and ongoing industry engagement. Upcoming projects include a new multi-platform, multi-media campaign to promote Welsh Lamb and an ambitious Red Meat Roadmap, currently in development.
Smith concluded: “So, let’s form a new social contract with domestic and international consumers to allow the promotion of our Welsh red meat brands with honesty, transparency and integrity.
"From now, sustainability will be the watchword for everything that HCC does. Along with the other core pillars of taste and nutrition, sustainability will be central to maintaining success and ensuring a future in red meat production for the next generation."
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
