Barbecues Beef Up Spirits of Japanese Evacuees

Barbecues Beef Up Spirits of Japanese Evacuees

New Zealand grass-fed beef was a welcome, albeit temporary, dietary change for a group of Japanese among the hardest hit by March’s devastating disasters.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) joined forces with the New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo earlier this month to host two massive barbecues – serving up 400kg of steak to residents at two evacuation centres in Japan’s worst-affected Tohoku region.

More than 100,000 people were displaced by Japan’s biggest ever recorded quake on 11 March, and the subsequent tsunami and nuclear crisis.

Their plight has been a constant source of news and concern in Japan in the aftermath of the disasters. With evacuees subsisting largely upon bread, rice and noodles, a recurring theme has been the lack of protein and variety in their diets.

As well as wanting to provide tangible support to the evacuees, B+LNZ and the Embassy were also conscious of Japan’s swift and generous action at the time of Christchurch’s 22 February earthquake.

The circumstances meant it was not appropriate to engage in a strong promotional push, says B+LNZ Market Manager – Japan, John Hundleby.

“Nevertheless, there is no doubt that our gesture of taking the trouble to travel to the evacuation centres was greatly appreciated, with more than a few people asserting that they would remember their meal of NZ beef as long as they lived! B+LNZ’s support for the evacuees also attracted considerable media attention, including television coverage in the local areas.”

The first barbecue was held at Shichigahama in Miyagi Prefecture on 1 May, and the second the following day in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. Around 2,000 people are currently living at the two centres.

The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, Mr Hundleby said. “There were long queues at both barbecues, with people seeming quite happy to enjoy the aroma of the beef cooking while they waited to be served. Many said it was the first proper meat dish they had eaten since the earthquake struck and they were highly complimentary about the taste of the grass-fed beef.”

NZ Ambassador to Japan Ian Kennedy and his wife Setsuko took a hands-on approach to supporting the barbecues, travelling with the B+LNZ team to help serve up the beef. Generous support was also received from the two NZ meat companies with offices in Japan, ANZCO Foods and Silver Fern Farms.

ENDS

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