Educating the masses about Australian red meat
As part of MLA’s involvement in the Sydney Royal Easter Show (SRES), each year the Australian Good Meat program provides a virtual reality (VR) paddock-to-plate experience, offering 360-degree immersive visuals of the beef and sheepmeat industry, on-farm and across the supply chain.
Red Meat Ambassadors – people from across the red meat industry who have undertaken training to effectively engage with the public about the industry – were utilised for attendees to engage beyond the VR experience and answer any burning questions.
Emily Peck, who works in the lamb and goatmeat export industry, was one of seven Red Meat Ambassadors who spent time at the paddock-to-plate exhibit, offering her industry knowledge to show attendees.
"As a Red Meat Ambassador, my role at the show was simply talking to people and answering any questions they might have about the red meat industry", Emily said.
Across the 12 days of the SRES, 4,957 people experienced the paddock-to-plate story.
"The VR experience was really popular with the children and students. A lot of parents were glad for their kids to learn something they may not have had the opportunity to otherwise", Emily said.
Educating Australians about the paddock-to-plate journey is crucial to the Australian Good Meat program’s mission to inform the community about animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and health and nutrition.
After attendees finished the paddock-to-plate experience, they were surveyed on how much they learnt.
Of 1,981 surveys collected, 89% of attendees said they had a greater understanding of the Australian red meat industry after the VR experience.
"Even some of the kids who came off farms themselves said that they were learning new things about different parts of the supply chain - they didn’t realise what happened once the livestock left the farm.
"It was such a worthwhile experience, and I’ll definitely be doing it again".
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