Dear Tiffany:

I'm hoping you can help settle a bet my friends and I are having. We are 
arguing about whether or not pork is considered "red meat" or "white meat."

After doing some research around the internet I've found the following 
pictures of pork:

http://www.consumerspacking.com/html/slides/pork-lollipop.jpg
http://aggiemeat.tamu.edu/judging/id/074P.jpg
http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/images/porkmixed.jpg

After looking at all those pictures it would appear that based on color 
pork is red meat. However the traditional wisdom would dictate that it's 
white meat. Therein lies our quandry.

Comparing it to chicken which is very much "white meat" it seems pretty 
clear to me. Pictures of chicken:

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/kgk/0599/chicken.jpg
http://www.menumagic.co.nz/images/shreddedchick.jpg
http://www.meatking.co.nz/images/catagory/chicken.jpg

However the pork commercials say that pork is the "other white meat." 
I've always thought this was sort of a joke, because pork seems to me to 
red meat. Now I'm not so sure.

Perhaps you can explain what would make a cut of meat qualify as either 
red or white meat? You were the most logical contact at the FFA, if you 
feel this question would be better answered by another person there 
please forward this email to them as we're very eager to hear your response.

Hi Scott,

Thanks for your question.  Here's what I know about pork and it's classification:

Pork is considered a red meat.  In the mid 80's, when health-conscience consumers
decided that red meat was unhealthy, the pork industry lost sales dramatically.
In an effort to regain lost ground, the Pork Council started a catchy and 
attractive campaign ("The other white meat") in 1987.  The campaign worked--
the demand for pork quickly rose.  In fact, today's pork prices rise at a rate 
faster than the cost of living inflation.  During the shift of perception, 
though, people began to refer to it as a white meat rather than a red meat 
(9 out of 10 people recognize the slogan).  

You may find this link of interest when it comes to the changing face of pork: 
http://www.nppc.org/resources/nutrition.html.  Basically, pork has become 
a competitive, nutritive rival to lean poultry.

That's basically it on the red vs. white meat debate on pork.  I'm happy to 
answer more questions.  Enjoy!

Tiffany