American Lamb Board

Megan Wortman
American Lamb Board
MWGA Annual Meeting Information Session
Saturday, December 5, 2009

(Photo shows Megan Wortman with Brad Boner)

Megan Wortman, executive director of the American Lamb Board, fired up the MWGA's optimism for the future of the national lamb market. The American Lamb Board (ALB) was founded in 2002 to increase the demand for lamb and expand markets. Currently, the ALB's "lambassadors" are working to promote the benefits of cooking with lamb among culinary circles, and at local consumer events and retail stores. Their work in nutritional education and promotion has had a positive impact on the presence of lamb in magazines, recipe contests, blogs, and websites.


"Lamb is the new pork," Wortman informed enthusiastically. The public perception of lamb remains questionable, but in the culinary venue, lamb is gaining status. While many consumers cling to the perception that lamb is expensive, has a bad taste, or is difficult to fix, chefs and restaurant owners are becoming more receptive to the product and many top culinary publications are selecting lamb as their protein of choice. Consumers may still be heistant to buy lamb in the market, in fact one third of consumers have never tried lamb, but lamb, Wortman assured, has become "the darling of the media."

Wortman started a theme which continued throughout the remainder of the convention's lamb marketing discussions: presentation and promotion are crucial to the success of marketing.

For more information about the American Lamb Board's work, please visit the following websites: http://www.americanlamb.com/, http://www.lambcheckoff.com/, and http://www.leanonlamb.com/.