The first meeting of the American Meat Science Association’s annual Reciprocal Meat Conference (RMC) was an assembly of a handful of men sharing ideas. Today, RMC has grown into the largest meeting of meat scientists in the United States. This year, the 69th annual RMC was hosted by Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. The conference was attended by students and professionals. In a span of three days, 94 speakers presented more than 100 sessions on various topics regarding meat science and industry.

Congressman Mike Conaway, United States Congress representing Texas’11th Congressional District and the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture Chairman and Congressman David Rouzer, United States Congress representing North Carolina's 7th Congressional District and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture opened the conference with an outstanding keynote session. This was an interactive session that allowed questions straight from the audience encouraging dialogue between the congressmen and the RMC attendees. Questions from the audiences touched on the topics of sustainability, foreign trade, research funding, and food safety. Congressmen Conaway and Rouzer gave great insight into the political side of agriculture, while allowing the public to share their concerns with the representatives.