World Iron Awareness Week Wrap-Up 2024
World Iron Awareness Week (WIAW) 2024, took place on 14 - 20 October, sharing the significant role meat plays in helping combat iron deficiency, the most common nutrient deficiency globally. This year, WIAW expanded its reach in terms of social media and mainstream media pick-up, successfully emphasising the positive effects of meat on iron levels across several regions and continents, particularly targeted at those at a higher risk of deficiency.
GMA shared robust evidence-based resources to help communicate these benefits widely and a set of resources prepared by Beef + Lamb New Zealand to spread the messages. Many in the meat sector used these resources, as well as their own powerful campaigns across the world, to support this initiative, share its message, and educate communities.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (BLNZ) led the charge on the management of the central WIAW campaign and the pick up of the messaging was strong; intended for stakeholders and consumers (including iron-rich recipes) - the content was well-aligned with the campaigns of individual countries as well as dietary guidelines, and proved on-brand for many regions to syndicate. As an example New Zealand’s ‘Iron To Move’ campaign was based around recipes and ideas for cooking that are based around nutrition and the power of movement, while other countries went with dietitian facts and figures to address the iron deficiency for many segments of society. The pick-up on socials with the assets created by BLNZ was worldwide - namely, from the UK, Uruguay, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia and others - and was well-supported in New Zealand by Auckland private hospitals, local dieticians and local health authorities. BLNZ also had the support from the four big processing companies in NZ who shared the same set of messaging on their own marketing platforms. The primary image, BLNZ tells us, was nearly always food and recipes across the world in terms of social media pick-up, which shows the power of engaging food and recipes. The success of the campaign originated in NZ was also reshared via Kea Kids onto the NZ Herald national newspaper sharing a video online with a reporter at Birkenhead Skateboard Park, and sharing how young girls are learning the importance of ‘iron in their diet and air under their wheels!"‘ The same topic was covered by Farmer’s Weekly NZ and it was great to see so many publications get behind the home country of the WIAW campaign.
Meanwhile, neighbours Australia’s main support for the campaign was via Meat & Livestock Australia, (MLA) who used the global platform to raise awareness about the role that Australian red meat plays in a healthy diet. The annual campaign was shared publicly on the MLA website highlighting the importance of adequate iron intake and its impact on global health. They shared the latest consumer sentiment research which asked respondents if and how they had changed their red meat consumption in the last 12 months. The response was that 76% of metropolitan Australians are eating the same amount or have increased their consumption of red meat; the highest statistic since the research commenced 15 years ago.
Group Manager for Community Communications and Events, Samantha Jamieson, said in this research article that red meat is an essential source of iron, and World Iron Awareness Week plays a pivotal role in engaging consumers around the world about red meat’s importance to a healthy diet. The activities planned throughout the week included social media campaigns by multiple MLA accounts including Australian Good Meat, which featured a series of informative content, and which were picked up by key influencers. The facts and Information was also communicated to producers, stakeholders and the media through MLA’s website, social media and newsletters.
Across MLA’s international markets, including in Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and the United States, MLA is conducting a series of events, social media campaigns, and outreach programmes to further elevate the focus on red meat’s role in iron nutrition value during World Iron Awareness Week. The aim was to empower individuals with the knowledge and tools to make informed choices and safeguard their health, and MLA successfully shared this message within Australia and far beyond.
Image from the Scottish Daily Express showing how to prepare a beef steak poké bowl
In Scotland, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) used the platform of WIAW to reveal that a startling four in five Scots (78%) are unaware of their recommended daily iron intake, and that women “would need to eat 2kg of broccoli or two cans of chickpeas a day” to get enough iron in their diet. Instead, the Make It Scotch campaign urged Scots to include more red meat in their healthy diets - a message that was picked up by the Scottish Daily Express here as a mainstream newspaper article in Scotland. Dietitian Dr Carrie Ruxton is quoted in the article as saying "It’s essential for us all to be aware of our iron needs and how to meet them through a balanced and varied diet. Scotch Beef, for example, is one of the best available sources of iron and suitable for all ages.” She goes on to say it is very versatile and simple to incorporate into the diet and makes a delicious meal, great messaging for the Scotch Beef label.
In the UK, AHDB shared a full suite of content for World Iron Awareness Week. They shared powerful messages for social media for their members to use, including advisory messages and imagery around iron from sources such as the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2018/2019). Social posts were directed to the Let’s Eat Balanced AHDB site.
Welsh red meat promotion body Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) partnered with Welsh athlete Adelé Nicoll to emphasise the importance of iron in the diet and found success in partnering with an elite sportsperson to deliver their message as BLNZ have also done in the past. Adelé was completing the Iron Wo(man) Challenge during the same week as WIAW where she shared the importance of iron in the diet as well as Welsh red meat’s overall nutritional benefits and versatility for her as an athlete especially.
Commenting on the importance of balanced diets and nutrition, Adelé said the below:
““A great way to boost iron levels, is to prioritise iron-rich foods in your diet. Look at incorporating more animal-based iron sources, such as red meat, into your meals, coupled with plant-based options such as leafy greens, beans and nuts. Red meat is a haem iron, which put simply, means it’s easier for the body to absorb it and the iron in the meat will help absorb the non-haem iron from the plant-based sources. Iron is such an important mineral and is a key part of a healthy, balanced diet.””
In Canada, Canada Beef went with a different approach and shared a full suite of assets ahead of WIAW called Iron Out The Facts with hard-hitting messaging that ‘Iron Matters’ and how to fix all manner of health issues that arise when we don’t get enough iron; from healthy growth to brain development, to mental health and energy levels. The assets included recipes and dietitian-designed resources. Audiences were also encouraged to take a quiz to find out if they were getting enough iron, prompting a move to take action if the score to the test suggests so.
Newswire Canada picked up on the above campaign for WIAW, covering “Iron Matters: World Iron Awareness Week Spotlights Iron Deficiency as a Global Concern.” Released the week before WIAW, the article referred to the same recent national research as above (from 2023) and quoted that more Canadians are struggling with iron deficiency than previously reported; nearly 30% of Canadian women aged 19-50 being affected by iron deficiency, with this number likely to affect more than 50% during pregnancy. It pointed to the efforts made by Canada Beef, which aims to raise awareness about the rates of iron deficiency in Canada and in helping Canadians make informed dietary choices.
LinkedIn was an unexpected and clever platform also used by Canada Beef this WIAW to engage with a new audience - Dietitian Crystal MacGregor posted a live video of herself cooking liver with the tagline “Can I REALLY make my family, friends, and coworkers eat beef liver?! I’m partnering with Canada Beef to find out!”
She announced Canada Beef’s “Liver Lover Contest” to mark the week of iron awareness and shared her own go-to recipe via a captioned video that could be liked and reshared. The ultimate message was “ Let’s all feel stronger, sharper, and more energized—starting with what’s on our plates!” You can also enter your own recipe at https://lnkd.in/euegRHZV for a chance to win prizes. This was an innovative way to get readers to be actively involved in the competition and engaging in iron-recipes.
Thank you to Canada Beef and all the other individuals and organisations who worked hard to deliver powerful messaging this World Iron Awareness Week - we look forward to seeing how we can step it up again in 2025!