Meat scientist and Mom at the Meat Counter creator Janeal Yancey shares her knowledge to influence the next generation of meat and animal science students and give other moms more confidence in meat purchasing decisions.
Yancey has been working at the University of Arkansas since 2005. Initially, she was hired to run the food safety programs for the meat lab, but through the years her role has included research, teaching and outreach.
“I’ve taught all of the meat evaluation curriculum and have talked about evaluating meat grades, pricing cattle and pricing carcasses,” Yancey says. “I’ve always liked teaching, and they’ve added more classes as the years have gone on. I enjoy the students and helping them see what’s possible in animal and meat science.”
Currently she serves as a meat scientist in the department of animal science.
“I’m a meat scientist, but I’m the first person who gets the phone call when people want somebody to do a demo of the cannulated cow,” she says. “I do a lot of field trips and recruiting trips in the summer, sharing hands-on animal science teaching.”
She’s also been teaching the intro to animal science class since 2019.
“I like teaching and talking to the freshman,” Yancey says. “They are excited to be here. I encourage them that it’s OK if they don’t know exactly what they want to do with their lives. They do figure it out, then it’s nice to watch them grow as they reach the end of their schooling and start their career.”
About 70% of animal science students at the University of Arkansas are female, and a high percentage don’t come from livestock backgrounds, Yancey says.
“Many students coming into the University of Arkansas animal science program are considering veterinary school. When you survey the freshman class, probably 65% to 70% say they want to be a veterinarian,” Yancey says.
Opening students’ eyes to all the possibilities in animal science is a rewarding part of her job.
“Students realize you can be a part of agriculture and not be a veterinarian,” she says. “We’ve got students who go work for feed, poultry and meat companies. We also have students working in banking or for USDA. Some students even take the skills they have learned and apply them to other industries. For example, a former animal science student works in a lab making glasses now, and even Yancey’s obstetrician has a degree in animal science.
“It’s a degree that can lead down a lot of different paths,” she adds.
Yancey’s favorite part is seeing students’ eyes opened to new ideas or concepts.
“I love those ‘ah-ha’ moments when a student figures out something or learns something,” she says. “That moment when you see their eyes light up, and they realize ‘I get this now.’”
Consumer connection
Those moments happen when Yancey does consumer outreach as well. When she became a mom, she saw an opportunity to help other moms learn more about the meat they feed their families. She began blogging at Mom at the Meat Counter in 2011.
“I get to help people see agriculture and animal science from a different perspective and give them a better understanding of meat and meat processing,” she says. “I ask people to approach things with an open mind and not think that farmers and the meat industry are against them.”
Today, Yancey does most of her Mom at the Meat Counter outreach on social media, using Facebook and other platforms to engage with the public.
“I want people to know real people take care of livestock and do it with integrity,” she says. “Real people process them to put healthy food on the plate. The meat industry sometimes is vilified because of bad actors, but those of us in meat science are trying to produce a good, safe, wholesome product.”
