The tenth annual Power of Meat report looks at meat and poultry trends through the shopper’s eyes and examined health and wellness trends for the first time. It found that 79 per cent of shoppers put some or a lot of effort into making sure they make nutritious and balanced meat and poultry choices.

However, perceptions of nutrition are a bit different for meat vs. poultry products. For meat products, including beef, pork and lamb, nutrition benefits are most associated with nutrients, such as iron and protein, followed by their role in a balanced diet and providing energy.

Consumers value poultry products, such as chicken or turkey, for the balance they provide in the diet, followed by the nutrients they offer and their contributions to maintaining a healthy weight.

“Whether it’s protein for developing, maintaining and repairing muscles, Vitamin B12 for normal metabolism and mental clarity or iron for its variety of roles in the body, meat and poultry are a key part of a balanced diet,” said Barry Carpenter, President and CEO of the North American Meat Institute.

“Consumers recognize this and as an industry we’re striving to offer a wide range of fresh and processed products to help Americans meet their nutrition goals.”

Overall, price and convenience still rank above nutrition for shoppers when buying meat and poultry, and price is seen as the greatest challenge to making nutritious and healthful meat and poultry choices, cited by 75 per cent of shoppers, but many do have strategies in place relative to health.

Five in ten shoppers say their strategy is choosing leaner cuts with some regularity, and four in ten frequently limit portions and second helpings.

The Power of Meat study also looked at Millennial attitudes toward the nutrition benefits of meat and poultry products, finding the group is most likely to seek out protein in foods, associating meat and poultry consumption with nutrients, energy and building physical strength, but challenged by how to prepare some of the cuts/kinds they deem to be more healthful.

The Power of Meat study was conducted by 210 Analytics, LLC, sponsored by The Cryovac Brand, a part of Sealed Air’s Food Care Division, and was unveiled at the FMI/NAMI Annual Meat Conference.

The top ten findings are available here.