The meat and poultry industry is much healthier in 2016 than it was in 2015.

All total, there were almost 750 products entered at the 2016 Cured Meats Championships, held during the American Association of Meat Processors’ annual convention in Omaha, Neb. in July.

As The National Provisioner (NP) celebrated its 100-year anniversary in April 1991, industry was struggling to meet ever-changing consumer demand for more … safer products, further value-added products, higher-quality products plus more convenient products and packaging.

When Andy recruited me to relive my tenure as a journalist covering the meat industry for a special issue commemorating The National Provisioner’s 125th anniversary, I knew squeezing an abundance of memories, experiences, joys and sorrows into a few hundred words of copy would be challenging.

While turkey remains the dominant center of the plate protein for Thanksgiving, consumption of such alternatives as pork, lamb, beef and chicken are on the upswing as more consumers seek variety, novelty and affordability when preparing for seasonal gatherings.

With such factors as price, convenience, wellness and sustainability on their minds, more consumers are seeking precise varieties of proteins, including packages with specific portions.

Since serving as editorial director of The National Provisioner and Meat & Deli Retailer, plus editor of the latter publication, in the early to mid-2000s, I, too, became a tiny thread in this massive, ever-growing NP editorial quilt.

Just as music radically changed during this twenty-five year span, so did American consumers — and particularly their demand for meat products.

In a business where the only constant is change, 125 years as a leading industry publication is a truly remarkable accomplishment.

Voters for The National Provisioner’s Plant of the Year award this year faced a serious challenge, as each of the nominees — all processing facilities visited for cover stories from June 2015 through May 2016 — made a very strong case for winning the annual award.