Beef Quality News

3 Factors Fueling Americans' Obsession with Protein

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 15:48:09 GMT

Meat is having a moment, and the craze for more protein is benefiting protein across the board. The fact cattle prices continue to crush records is proof of that, as well as the robust demand for pork.

“I am still bullish of dairy. I’m bullish of beef. I’m bullish of pork and poultry,” says Dan Basse, AgResource Company . “I think as you think forward, I see the next two or three years as being the years of protein. It’s that side of the fence in agriculture that’s going to do very well.”

Basse’s optimistic outlook on protein hinges on one major factor: consumers’ ability to pay for it.

“I’m still bullish of protein, until we see the labor force start to shrink in the United States, and I start to see disposable income coming down. Again, there’s not a period looking backward in history that I can find where disposable income on a personal basis has risen this quickly from 2020 to 2025,” he says.

“Meat protein, not just pork or not just beef, but meat is having a moment. I’m an economist, so I have concerns on the macroeconomic front, but it is exciting to be in an era where the public’s desire for meat protein is growing,” says Glynn Tonsor, a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University.

People Are Eating More Protein Than Ever Before

Cargill’s 2025 Protein Profile found people are eating more protein than ever before. The report found 61% of consumers report increasing their protein intake in 2024, which is up from 48% from 2019.

According to Cargill, the shift in shoppers’ preferences toward whole, minimally processed foods, is giving protein a chance to shine.

“It’s really important to remember the U.S. public wants meat protein,” Tonsor says. “There are a lot of signs. We are in a pro protein environment. I don’t think there’s issues. I actually think there is a celebration about the taste and the eating experience and so forth for all the major proteins.”

A Slight Shift in May’s Monthly Meat Demand Monitor

Tonsor also authors what’s called the Monthly Meat Demand Monitor (MDM) , which tracks U.S. consumer preferences, views and demand for meat. The first half of the year, the MDM continued to show consumers’ growing demand for protein, but in the report in May, it did show a slight shift.

“The biggest takeaway from the MDM would be we have two conflicting patterns,” says Tonsor. “One is the public really wants meat protein, but the macroeconomic environment is giving us some pause. So, we continue to see strong signals people want protein. Taste is leading that decision, so that’s good and very supportive, but we also see lots of uncertainty on the macro-economic front. So, trade discussions, elevated unemployment, inflation concerns and so forth. Those are not supportive of meat demand, so those are the two trends that are fighting the way out.”

Tonsor points out the May MDM showed a pullback in consumers eating away from home, like in restaurants, but showed a boost in retail demand, which would be grocery stores.

“But part of that is a substitution away from restaurants,” he says. “And that’s across the board. It’s not just pork or beef or chicken. It’s all of them that we track, so I do think it is a headwind that is growing here in 2025.”

Tonsor says if confidence in the economy rebounds, and tariff discussions ease, the restaurant piece of meat demand could quickly recover, especially considering we’re entering the summer months, where meat demand is typically higher.

3 Major Drivers Behind the Protein Craze

And even with the pause in restaurant demand in May, Tonsor says the push for consumers to eat even more protein doesn’t seem to be going away, and it’s being driven by three major factors.

“More people are having meat as an ingredient rather than center of the plate. So, it’s coming across as more convenient. It’s an input,” Tonsor says. “Also younger folks in particular are quite physically active, and their demand for protein and that broader lifestyle is elevated.”

Those two factors are strong drivers of meat demand, especially in the younger crowd. But another supportive piece of the growing demand for protein is related to weight loss drugs.

“We have a GLP-1 effect, so Ozempic, Mounjar and so forth, in the MDM, we put out a report earlier this year, showing maybe 15% of the U.S. public is using the GLP-1,” Tonsor says. “That’s a higher end, but that’s what we estimate. And if you are on those products, you’re actually consuming beef, pork and chicken more frequently.”

He says all of those things add up to support the growth in meat demand.

“It’s the income and the future status of my finances is mainly the only headwind at the moment, and that’s why I keep reiterating that concern,” Tonsor says.

Demand is What’s Pushing Cattle Prices to New Highs

It’s not just the hog industry that’s benefiting from the strong demand, both domestically and with exports

Cattle prices continue to crush records. But according to one veteran cattle analyst, it’s not historically tight cattle numbers pushing prices higher, it’s the strong demand.

“This price increase that we’re experiencing in the industry is demand-driven,” says Randy Blach, CEO of CattleFax. “Our per capita supplies were flat last year. They’re going to be flat again this year. And yet we’ve had a market that’s gone from a $1.75 to $2.25. That’s all been demand driven with what we’ve seen throughout the industry.”

The incredible demand is pushing beef demand to its highest level in nearly 40 years.

“Beef demands that are a 37-year high,” he says. “And I think when people think about demand, obviously quality has been the key to that. We’ve seen the quality of the animals being produced has increased substantially.”

As record-high cattle prices also push the cost of beef higher, that would push consumers to eat more pork and chicken in the past. But it’s a trend Tonsor is not largely seeing this time around.

“We see some of that, but not nearly as much as you might think. So, there’s less of that adjustment than historically we would have seen,” Tonsor says. “This is 100% Glynn’s opinion, but I think habits are a little stickier. Persistence of an item in your meal is a little sticker than in the past. Meat is an ingredient, not just the center of the plate. Higher beef prices have not elevated chicken demand as people have expected, and I think it’s because the consumer substitution effects, they exist, but they’re not as strong as they were 20 years ago.”

As consumers crave more protein, it’s a bright spot for all of livestock with many hopeful this isn’t just a trend but a permanent fixture on consumers’ plates.

Pig Fat Cell Production Could Transform Lab-Grown Meat

Fri, 30 May 2025 14:33:22 GMT

Lab-grown fat cells offer promise for cultivated meat, according to research from The Roslin Institute . A source of fat cells from pigs has been developed in the lab that offers scientists and food manufacturers a promising tool for the large-scale production of cultivated meat without the need for genetic modification.

“We didn’t simply develop a tool, we made a very special discovery,” says Tom Thrower, lead researcher at The Roslin Institute. “The fact that these cells not only grow indefinitely but also retain their ability to become fat at such high efficiency is something we have never seen before in livestock stem cells. It opens the door to new possibilities in cultivated meat and beyond.”

Researchers say the development could address the challenge of generating realistic, sustainable animal fat — a significant hurdle in the cultivated meat industry as the new cells are capable of efficiently producing fat tissue with consistency.

Stem cells turning into fat cells over a span of 40 days. Accumulated fat is shown in green.

(The Roslin Institute)

“The cells, known as FaTTy, are formed from early-stage stem cells which develop into fat and can grow indefinitely in the lab without losing the ability to reliably produce fat cells,” the Roslin Institute reports. “In contrast, most animal stem cells quickly lose this capability, making large-scale use impractical.”

This helps meet the need for fat as a key component in delivering the flavor and texture consumers expect from meat, the article says.

Researchers grew stem cells derived from five piglets and discovered cells from one of the piglets was able to reproduce hundreds of times without the need for gene editing. The results also showed that the fat produced closely resembled native pig fat in its composition, with slightly higher levels of healthier monounsaturated fats.

“These fat cells have the potential to be a game-changer in the field of cultivated meat and will help make this a reality in the very near future,” says Xavier Donadeu, principal investigator at The Roslin Institute.

This research was published in NPJ Science of Food .

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It's Time For Transparency and Scientific Integrity in the Dietary Guidelines, Marshall Says

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 19:51:42 GMT

Despite decades of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) is concerned why “U.S. citizens have only become sicker and more obese, while taxpayer dollars continue to fund this chaotic and broken process,” he said in a release.

Marshall and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) have introduced the Dietary Guidelines Reform Act of 2025, legislation that will amend the National Nutrition Monitoring & Related Research Act of 1990 and aims to modernize the development of federal dietary guidelines with up-to-date, evidence-based nutritional information.

“The Dietary Guidelines Reform Act brings much-needed transparency and scientific integrity to the dietary guidelines process, restores public trust, and aims for healthier outcomes by ensuring the recommendations truly serve the American people,” Marshall said in a release.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans — which inform all federal nutrition programs, including school breakfast and lunch, and provide dietary recommendations used by health professionals — are updated every five years by the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services based on recommendations from an advisory committee.

Among its recommendations for the 2025 guidelines, the advisory committee said Americans should reduce and replace red meat with plant-based proteins.

Jackson introduced the House companion version of the bill.

“The Biden administration has weaponized the dietary guidelines to push a partisan agenda instead of sound nutritional science,” Jackson said in a release. “My bill will ensure these dietary guidelines are based on transparent, evidence-based research — not political ideologies — so Americans can trust they are getting real, science-backed recommendations that support their health and well-being.”

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) opposes the advisory committee’s recommendation on meat, noting in Capital Update that “[t]here has been no scientific justification for reducing red meat and replacing it with plant-based proteins. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans need to reflect nutrition science and continue to recommend animal-based protein such as red meat as a critical part of the American diet.”

NPPC added that it will work with the Trump administration to ensure the Dietary Guidelines best serve the health and nutrition interests of the American public.

“One of our roles at NPPC is to work on the dietary guidelines and provide feedback to those decision-makers on why pork needs to stay on the plate,” NPPC past president Lori Stevermer said at the National Pork Industry Forum. “I would say, certainly with the discussion on health and the focus on protein in diets, pork fits very well in the guidelines. We’re going to continue to make sure, through that work with the dietary guidelines, that the pork is part of everybody’s plate.”

Your Next Read: Reducing Red Meat in Favor of Plant-Based Proteins Raises Nutritional Concerns

University of Illinois Partnership Helps Solve Critical Need to Develop Food Animal Veterinarians

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 16:21:33 GMT

High-achieving students with an interest in food animal veterinary sciences will now have an expedited pathway for admission at the College of Veterinary Medicine (Vet Med) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A new program allows animal sciences majors to gain early acceptance at Vet Med if they maintain a 3.5 GPA, complete livestock-related courses and experiences, and plan to become food animal veterinarians.

“It’s more important than ever for highly trained veterinarians to keep livestock herds safe and healthy. It’s a critical need for the livestock industry. This is one way we can help support students with that interest, and we’re really excited about it,” said Anna Dilger, professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.

Rather than applying to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at Illinois during the fall of their senior year, students with a demonstrated interest in food animal care can apply to the new early acceptance program in the spring of their sophomore year. Dilger says early acceptance allows students to focus on completing their undergraduate degrees with less stress and more attention to courses that will prepare them for the livestock industry.

“The classes our students take in their junior and senior years — like beef production and livestock feeds and feeding — are really designed to make them better practitioners in the context of food animal production,” Dilger said. “They’re not going to get that type of training in vet school, but they will be better prepared as future veterinarians for the workforce.”

A handful of other veterinary schools across the country offer early acceptance to enrolled undergraduates, but few focus on food animals.

“The veterinary profession has identified the need for more practitioners in the food animal and mixed animal fields, especially in rural areas,” said Sara Connolly, assistant dean for admissions and student success at Vet Med. “There are currently more than 12 times the number of veterinarians practicing in companion animal medicine than in food animal or mixed practice. We hope the early admissions program will help address this need, particularly in Illinois, by encouraging future veterinarians with a food animal interest.”

Dan Shike, interim department head for animal sciences, hopes the program will entice new and existing students to pursue careers in food animal medicine.

“We’d love for this to attract prospective students to our department. Students come to us knowing they want to work with animals, but not many of them realize that food animal medicine is an interest at first,” he said. “Our curriculum develops that interest over time. After three semesters, when it’s time to apply for this program, they might realize it could be a great career opportunity.”

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A Champion for Meat

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 18:02:27 GMT

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.”

Read more: Whole Animal Health Trend Valuable to Ranchers

What Am I Buying? A Guide to Meat Labels

Purdue University Researches Benefits of Fatty Acids Found in Meat

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 20:14:47 GMT

The impact of arachidonic acid, an omega-6 polyunsaturated fat found only in animal products, upon human health remains mostly misunderstood, according to an article released by Purdue University. Researchers aim to study the subject further.

Led by James Markworth , assistant professor of animal sciences , the team will carefully test the health effects of omega-6 in laboratory experiments. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture , will fund the research and the experiments will clarify which omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil and seafood are responsible for yielding their health benefits.

“These polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential because you need to acquire them through the diet,” Markworth says. “They can’t be made in the body. And in particular it’s the long-chain versions, which are found in products of animal or marine origin, that are thought to potentially influence human health.”

Both omega-3 and omega-6 are long-chain, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and some of these fatty acids are also essential fatty acids.

The long-chain omega-6 fat arachidonic acid is found only in meat, poultry and eggs. “You can’t get it from vegetable sources, and you can’t get it from fish. We think that these nutrients found in meat and poultry products might have similar benefits as, say, fish oil or fish products. And that’s something you don’t hear very often,” Markworth says.

Previous research has well established that fish oil fatty acids have metabolic benefits. But which fatty acids convey those benefits and how remains unclear. The major ones are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Collaborating with Markworth on the project are: Tzu-Wen Cross in the College of Health and Human Sciences , along with Tim Johnson and Kolapo Ajuwon , both in the College of Agriculture ’s Department of Animal Sciences .

“What we’re suggesting is when you eat these lipids in the diet or dietary supplements, the systemic response your body has might depend on the resident microbes first encountered in the gastrointestinal tract,” Markworth says. “And we’re proposing that the systemic response is largely mediated by the effect on the skeletal muscle.”

Markworth notes the skeletal muscle determines metabolic health, obesity and diabetes as it is the largest site of glucose disposal and insulin sensitivity.

Read more here .

Florida Becomes First State to Ban the Sale of Lab-Grown Meat

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 16:26:14 GMT

The first bill banning lab-grown meat was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on May 1. According to SB 1084, the bill prohibits the manufacture for sale, sale, holding or offering for sale, or distribution of cultivated meat in the state.

In a press conference in Hardee County, which is one of the top five cattle-producing counties in the state, the Governor spoke about the importance of supporting rural economies and agriculture.

“We’re fighting back against an ideology that ultimately wants to eliminate meat production in the U.S. and around the globe,” DeSantis said. “In the state of Florida we’ve put down the marker very clearly; we stand with agriculture. We stand with the cattle ranchers. We stand with our farmers because we understand it’s important for the backbone of the state. It’s important for our culture. It’s important for our heritage so the bill that I’m going to sign today is going to say basically take your fake, lab-grown meat elsewhere. We’re not doing that in the state of Florida.”

Joining the Governor during the conference were Wilton Simpson, commissioner of agriculture; Dale Carlton, president-elect of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association; Pat Durden, president of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association; and Sen. Jay Collins who worked on the bill.

In his remarks, Simpson said that food security is national security.

“It doesn’t always rise to the height of national security, but think about if there were no groceries just for one week in the grocery store, you would have total chaos in this country, and if that’s not national security, I don’t know what it is,” he said. “We get up every day thinking how can we have the most safe, affordable, abundant food anywhere in the world, and Florida is going to do its share of growing that product. We work hard every day to give our farmers the tools they need to accomplish these things.”

Both cattlemen expressed appreciation for the Governor and the legislature for protecting Florida’s cattle industry by signing this bill.

There has been an ongoing debate across the country in regard to cultivated meat products. Currently, lab-grown meat is only approved to be sold in the U.S. and Singapore. Italy was the first country in the EU to ban lab-grown meat, a decision made in February 2024.

Ground Beef Tests Negative for H5N1, says USDA-APHIS

Thu, 02 May 2024 15:46:16 GMT

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced results from testing 30 samples of ground beef on Thursday, showing that all were negative for H5N1.

The agency made the announcement on its website, available for review here .

USDA-FSIS said it collected the samples from “states with dairy cattle herds that had tested positive for the H5N1 influenza virus at the time of sample collection. The samples were sent to APHIS’ National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) for PCR testing.”

PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction. Such testing is done to identify the presence or absence of human pathogens in food. Common pathogens routinely tested for in food include E. coli and Salmonella, for instance. In the ground beef study, no virus particles were found to be present.

The USDA said it is working on two additional beef safety studies. According to the information posted online, these include:

1. Beef muscle sampling of cull dairy cows condemned at select FSIS-inspected slaughter facilities: FSIS is currently collecting muscle samples at FSIS-inspected slaughter facilities of cull dairy cattle that have been condemned for systemic pathologies. The samples will be analyzed by APHIS using PCR to determine presence of viral particles. The results are forthcoming and will be posted as soon as they become available.

2. Ground beef cooking study: ARS will be conducting a beef cooking study and will be using a virus surrogate in ground beef and cooking it at different temperatures to determine log-reduction of the virus. The results will be posted as soon as they become available.

The agency said the results from both studies will be posted as soon as they become available.

Americans Love Meat and Say It's a Healthy Choice

Wed, 24 May 2023 20:30:22 GMT

A majority of Americans regularly eat meat and believe that it’s a healthy choice, according to an exclusive Newsweek poll of 1,500 U.S. voters conducted by Redfield and Wilton Strategies. They also don’t think the meat industry is bad for the climate.

The poll showed 35% of people strongly agreed with the statement that it’s healthy to eat meat, with 41% selecting “agree” and 17% selecting “neither agree nor disagree.” Only 4% said that they disagreed, and a further 1% said that they strongly disagreed.
In addition, 81% of people eat meat at least once a week, and 10% said that they ate it only once or twice a month. Only 4% and 3% of the respondents said that they rarely or never ate meat, respectively.
The poll showed 55% would not feel safe eating lab-grown meat and 57% would not eat it. Although 30% of people said that they believed lab-grown meat provides a realistic alternative to meat produced from animals, 51% said they did not and 19% said they didn’t know.

“Despite the great strides made by the vegetarian and vegan movements over the past few decades, most Americans aren’t going to give up their meat-based diets anytime soon,” the Newsweek article said.

A World Without Livestock Doesn’t Work

Anna Dilger, professor of meat science at the University of Illinois, responded to the article’s biased slant on meat.

“A world without livestock is simply a world that doesn’t work,” Dilger says. “People would have a hard time meeting their nutritional needs. To lament that Americans ‘refuse to quit eating meat’ is misguided and doesn’t recognize the scientific support for meat as part of a healthy diet.”

The Dublin Declaration of Scientists on the Societal Role of Livestock reaffirms that livestock and meat consumption are instrumental for dietary health, play a key role in the overall sustainability of our food system and is a key pillar of economic prosperity around the world, she points out.

“Farming systems would be unsustainable as livestock play a key role in using marginal lands to produce food and in recycling by-products from other parts of the food system. In many places around the world, livestock forms the basis of healthy financial systems. As one of the few assets that women can own in some societies, livestock are a means towards gender equality and economic development,” Dilger adds.

A nutritious diet consists of eating a variety of foods, including meat, says Kara Behlke-Ungerman, vice president of nutrition, health and wellness transformation at the National Pork Board.

“If we look at proteins globally, pork is at the center of human nutrition as the most culturally applicable protein, delivering a sustainable source of nutritional value across life stages, across meal occasions, to the widest range of cultures and socio-economic levels,” Behlke-Ungerman says. “Pork makes it easy to eat a plant-forward diet as it is the perfect “carrier” of under-consumed vegetables and nutrients that help us eat better. This means when pork is on the plate, it brings with it the nutrients and food groups we sometimes struggle to eat enough of.”

A recent article in a peer-reviewed edition of the scientific journal Animal Frontiers pointed out meat’s critical role in society.

“Animal-source foods are superior to plant-source foods at simultaneously supplying several bioavailable micronutrients and high quality macronutrients that are critical for growth and cognitive development. Dietary recommendations to eliminate animal-source foods from diets ignore their importance, particularly the great need for these foods in diets of the undernourished in the Global South,” Adegbola Adesogan, director of the University of Florida’s Global Food Systems Institute, said in a release.

The peer-reviewed evidence reaffirms that the most prominent global study which claimed that consumption of even tiny amounts of red meat harms health (the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Risk Factors Report) is fatally scientifically flawed and should be retracted, added Alice Stanton of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland in a release.

“In fact, removing fresh meat and dairy from diets would harm human health. Women, children, the elderly and those of low income would be particularly negatively impacted,” Stanton said.