Ground beef is actually a healthy choice.

“We can increase the fat and marbling throughout the production cycle, but for many years there’s been this perception among consumers that too much fat in ground beef isn’t a good thing. Against conventional wisdom, ground beef of all kinds actually is healthy for you,” says. Stephen Smith, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist and Regents Professor in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University.

“We need fat in beef to improve the eating experience,” he says. Beef with reasonable marbling and juicy taste is preferred among consumers, and industry leaders continue to monitor how to consistently produce a product with these traits. A recent research article addresses the biology and biochemistry of beef marbling and its effects on production systems, carcass and fat quality.

Smith teamed with Dr. Brad Johnson, Gordon W. Davis Regent’s Chair in the department of animal and food science at Texas Tech University, to co-author a paper, “Marbling: Management of cattle to maximize the deposition of intramuscular adipose tissue.”

The research was funded by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Beef Checkoff Program and can be found online.

See the entire report here.