The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) has announced that Drs. Frederic Leroy and Nancy Rodriguez will be the featured speakers in the Keynote Symposium over Meat in the Human Diet at the 66th International Congress of Meat Science and Technology (ICoMST) and 73rd Reciprocal Meat Conference (RMC) in Orlando, Florida, USA.  Drs. Leroy and Rodriguez will be the keynote speakers on Monday, August 3, 2020, sponsored by JBS USA Food Company. This keynote symposium will address improving eating patterns to sustain health and improving food security and nutritional health outcomes for low-income people. The emphasis of this symposium is to create a venue for scientific discussion of how innovative research can be translated to effective policies and practices to improve human health through nutrition- specifically as it applies to inclusion of meat products in a healthy diet.

The place of meat in dietary policy: an exploration of the animal/plant divide: The counterproductive view of food systems where plants are largely seen as beneficial, animal source foods as intrinsically harmful will be discussed. The promotion of civic responsibility to accept this animal/plant binary as such continues to evolve as a cultural construct and is currently deepening due to a global sense of urgency, underpinned by various societal anxieties and normative responses.  Dr. Frédéric Leroy, Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium will address the consumer and the scientific community sharing insight into behavior toward meat in the diet to help attendees better understand. 

The role of meat in healthy eating patterns: considerations for protein quantity and protein quality:  The benefits of higher protein diets for supporting increases in and maintenance of muscle is well established, the critical role of protein quality has been lost given the complexity of our food system.  In this symposium Dr. Nancy Rodriguez, Professor at the University of Connecticut – Storrs, will review recommendations and research specific to protein quantity and quality in the context of meat’s contribution to healthy eating patterns, current trends, sustainability and the planet. She will also compare and contrast the quality attributes of plant protein vs. animal derived proteins and their role in the human diet and the ramifications of protein quality on sustainability.

The AMSA 66^th ICoMST and 73^rd RMC will be held August 2-7, 2020 at the Walt Disney World Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA. For more information please visit: www.icomst2020.com or contact Deidrea Mabry 1-800-517-AMSA ext. 12.

Source: AMSA