A new beef checkoff study is evaluating Millennials, which consists of 80 million people in the U.S., or one-fourth of the population. By understanding how my generation grew up, we can understand how to meet their adult needs as well. The checkoff study revealed that “this generation really enjoys beef, but they also have some beef issues, many of which relate to consumer education.”

Think about it. Many Millennials, because their parents were working outside of the home -- a trend that was a non-issue with the previous generation of stay-at-home moms -- never learned to cook or prepare meals like Grandma did. Everything was open, microwave and eat. Now, as adults, Millennials have a strong desire to prepare those home-cooked meals for their blossoming families the old-fashioned way. However, those skills skipped a generation and the lessons were lost. 

I’ll never forget a few years ago when I was still in college, one of my cousins -- just a few months younger than me -- announced at Christmas that she was dating a pescatarian (someone who eats exclusively fish). She loved the beef her mom prepared when she came home from college, but handling and preparing red meat wasn’t a skill she’d been taught. In essence, because she didn’t know how, she was giving it up completely.

The checkoff study revealed that my cousin isn’t the only one who is a little bit confused, intimidated or frustrated about how to select, purchase and prepare beef. Couple that with the sticker shock of beef products in the meat case, and we have some issues to address.

According to the study, “Millennials in general know very little about shopping for and cooking beef – which is a primary deterrent to purchasing it. They acknowledge beef benefits, like building muscle and helping maintain energy, but lack nutritional facts to understand how beef, especially in terms of an appropriate number of servings, fits in a healthy diet and active lifestyle.”

The study says: “Millennials see food as an adventure, a route to diverse cultural and social experiences. They want beef to be part of these experiences. However, 54% say it’s hard to know what cuts to choose in the meat case. Millennials are also far less adept than any other generation when it comes to cooking beef. More than half (56%) of Millennials report disappointment in the results of a beef meal they’ve prepared, compared to only 31% of Boomers.

“On a positive note, Millennials are knowledge seekers. The study says a majority (75%) of Millenials want information about steaks and how to prepare and cook them, and 55% want information on preparing and serving beef to their children. In addition, Millennials tend to buy the same cuts rather than diversify their choices, but 50% say they’d buy more beef if they knew more about the different cuts. You can read the entire findings from the study here.”

After reviewing the information, I was most concerned about one key point -- Millennial parents are limiting their children’s consumption of beef because chicken is perceived as easier to prepare, and kids like its fun presentations in strips and nuggets. Millennial parents also believe other meats are more heart-healthy than red meat, and they don’t think beef is convenient to prepare for children. 

According to the checkoff study, however, these findings are an opportunity to reach my generation through education to show them that beef is an affordable, convenient, versatile protein source their kids will love for the taste, and their parents will love for its nutritional profile.

Beefcheckoff.com