Meat+Poultry - October 2021 - 8

COMMENTARY
Face-to-face - finally
The last meat and poultry processing
industry trade show I attended was
the International Production and
Processing Expo (IPPE), held Jan.
28-30, 2020, in Atlanta. Soon after
that, I attended my last in-person
industry conference - the Annual
Meat Conference, held in Nashville,
March 2-4, 2020. At the time, I didn't
fully realize how important face-toface
events were to those of us in the
industry. They gave us the chance
to see new equipment, firsthand;
to learn about new technologies,
trends and products, in person; and
to have casual and business-related
conversations, while looking people
directly in the eye. Before COVID, I
didn't fully appreciate the benefits of
face-to-face business - now, I'll never
take it for granted again.
In addition to face-to-face business
conducted at industry trade shows
and conferences, MEAT+POULTRY
has always benefited from face-to-face
interviews and plant visits with
processors all over the country.
Traveling around to see plants firsthand
allowed our editors to truly experience
the processing plants we wrote about
in the magazine. Meeting the company's
leaders, seeing the production crew
working on the lines and witnessing
the product being processed and
packaged gave us an inside view on
the inner workings of each company
we profiled. When the pandemic
struck, in-person visits stopped. Of
course that made sense - processors
needed to keep their workers safe
by eliminating outside visitors. And
we needed to keep ourselves and our
families safe by avoiding unnecessary
exposure. It was the right thing to do,
but we missed out as a result, and
so, in part, did our readers. While we
never stopped telling processor stories
and sharing information about new
technologies and trends, we have all
missed the extra insight we got from
face-to-face visits.
Even though the pandemic isn't
quite over, we are slowly, but surely
returning to our greatly missed
face-to-face contact. Plants are opening
their doors to us once again - albeit
cautiously, and of course, safely.
Editor Joel Crews recently had
the opportunity to visit Certified
Piedmontese in Lincoln, Neb., and one
of White Castle's famed beef processing
plants in Zanesville, Ohio. The in-depth
stories he was able to share with our
readers about both unique operations
was undoubtedly due to the quality,
in-person time he was able to spend
with company leaders at each facility.
And now, this fall, our industry
trade shows are finally returning as
in-person events. Pack Expo returned
to the Las Vegas Convention Center
in late September. Attendees had the
chance to visit exhibitor booths in four
halls of the convention center while
also attending various educational
sessions on the Innovation Stage
during the three-day show. However,
while the excitement of being in person
was a common theme, safety and
caution also surrounded the event.
Masks were encouraged (though not
required), sanitizing stations were
located throughout the trade show
floor and in-person receptions were
encouraged to space out as much as
possible to help prevent close contact.
Next up will be Process Expo,
in Chicago in early November.
More in-person exhibitor visits are
promised alongside Process Expo
University, Food for Thought sessions
and production line demonstrations.
Additional safety measures will also
be implemented at McCormick Place
including mask mandates, touchless
registration and one-way aisles on the
trade show floor. The safety precautions
are plentiful, but necessary.
While we're all undoubtedly
experiencing pandemic fatigue, now is
not the time to let our guard down. If
the industry wants to keep holding and
attending in-person events - and staying
face-to-face in the future - it's critical
we all do our part to abide by safety
protocols while we're together.
KIMBERLIE CLYMA | kclyma@sosland.com
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information and insights we provide. In addition to our industry leading print editions, you can
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Meat+Poultry - October 2021

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