ISU researchers are hoping to make beef a healthier food and make the product more consumer friendly.

“Beef contains a lot of protein and is a good source of nutrients,” said Shu Zhang, graduate student in biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology. “Per capita, from the 1970s to 2003, beef demand decreased dramatically. We want to make the beef healthier to increase consumption.”

Donald Beitz, distinguished professor of animal science and biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, said, “We are studying which genes can be controlled by breeding and nutrition to positively impact the healthfulness of beef and milk that we consumers have come to enjoy.”

James Reecy, associate professor of animal science, said, “You can make the fatty acid more unsaturated, therefore making a healthier fatty acid.”

The “Healthy Beef” method will allow testing of the cattle’s fatty acids at a young stage, therefore, providing better sire selection, a process in which the producer chooses which bull to father future calves.

Zhang said that the amount of saturated fatty acids are higher in beef than in other meats, which can ultimately lead to heart disease.

“We try and study the heritability of that fatty acid so we can have genetic control of that fatty acid in beef,” Beitz said. “We feel like we are making progress.”

Reecy said he is very confident in the process.

Beitz, Reecy, Zhang and Travis Knight have worked on the project together for the past few years. Knight left Iowa State about a year ago for a job at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

So far, money for the research has come from USDA grants.

Beitz said that now they were looking to other government agencies, business firms, or industrial firms to help fund continuing research.

“It has changed the industry a bit in that we need to focus on healthiness of food rather than just efficiencies of production and processing of those foods,” Beitz said.

All seemed to be enthusiastic about what the future research would accomplish.

“I think this is something that will continue for years to come,” Reecy said.

But, he added, there is still plenty of work to be done.