Microbiome research is an area of increasing interest in livestock production due to potential microbiome impacts on animal performance. The term microbiome, while scientifically rooted in the genetic makeup of the microbes, is used to more generally represent the microbial populations that are present in an environment. 

Plant-based burgers are enjoying a major growth spurt.

It’s a burger boom time. While beef burgers have long been a family favorite and a key comfort food, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent rise in home-prepped meals is elevating interest and sales patties and grinds.

The numbers tell the story: Burgers are a bonanza for foodservice operators.

COVID-19 isn’t the only thing I would have liked to leave behind in 2020. Animal-rights activist attacks also rise to the top of my list. Animal-rights activists never miss an opportunity to kick animal agriculture when its down, and the Coronavirus pandemic was no exception. 

As a food industry lawyer, I like to closely track recalls of U.S. Department of Agriculture-regulated products. Each year, I watch with interest (and, sometimes, bewilderment) as a continuous stream of recalls float by. The reasons for recalls can vary wildly, involving issues ranging from the unavoidable presence of pathogens to the very avoidable presence of hydraulic fluid. 

Dr. Jonathan Campbell of Penn State University talks about the chemistry of curing.

RJ’s Meats of Hudson, Wis., brings its sandwich capabilities to its home in Hudson, Wis.

Beef at its best—that’s the promise Pineland Farms Natural Meats – an all-natural beef company that prides itself on supporting family farms and offering never-ever products, makes to its customers. 

Every meat packaging format has its place, at least for today. By tomorrow the market landscape may have shifted once again, reordering the field. This isn’t news; it’s the nature of a responsive and vibrant retail marketplace.