Colorado State University is the state’s Land Grant University and the Department of Animal Sciences is responsible for educating approximately 800 undergraduate and 50 graduate students at any given time. The CSU main campus sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains one hour north of Denver in Fort Collins, Colo., and offers a wide cross-section of the livestock and meat industries and their trade organizations.
The Department of Animal Sciences is home to world-renowned researchers including animal welfare expert Dr. Temple Grandin and beef cattle nutrition pioneer Dr. John Matsushima. The CSU Center for Meat Safety & Quality (CMSQ) consists of a multidisciplinary group of meat scientists whose individual programs focus on addressing a variety of national and global issues related to meat safety and quality. The CMSQ is among a select group of 19 programs at CSU that have been designated as Programs of Research and Scholarly Excellence. The CMSQ at CSU has most recently been involved with research projects including the 2011 National Beef Quality Audit and updating the USDA’s Nutrient Database of Standard Reference for beef and veal cuts.