Dr. Gerrard, department head of the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, discusses the factors that determine meat taste, tenderness and quality.

Do you know why a chicken has both white meat and dark meat? Do you know the factors that affects the tenderness and taste of red meat? This week, Francisco Najar-Villarreal talks with Dr. David Gerrard of Virginia Tech about some of the basics behind the meat we process and eat on a regular basis.

This week, MeatsPad features Dr. Amilton De Mello of the University of Nevada. One of Dr. De Mello’s many areas of research involves nutrigenomics. The benefits of eating meat for its nutrients is well known, but there may be more benefits that can come from meat consumption, down to the nucleotide level.

Andy Hanacek, editor-in-chief, gets an update from Evan Inada, Columbus Craft Meats, on how COVID-19 affected demand for charcuterie and high-end deli proteins, as well as some of the company's business approaches and tactics.

Evan Inada, Columbus Craft Meats, talks with Andy Hanacek, editor-in-chief of The National Provisioner, about the ways in which charcuterie has grown over the years and how it is driving new customers to the deli today.

Andy Hanacek discusses the trends driving charcuterie with Evan Inada, Columbus Craft Meats, and how the processor has been developing products to support consumer demand in the segment.

In this week’s MeatsPad podcast, Francisco Najar-Villarreal and Dr. Phil Bass are joined by Collette Kaster, CEO of the American Meat Science Association, and Deidrea Mabry, COO of the AMSA. They talk about the logistics behind making the 2020 Reciprocal Meat Conference a virtual event, their backgrounds in meat science, and more.

In this episode, Francisco Najar-Villirreal speaks with Dr. Sarah Gragg of Kansas State University Olathe. Dr. Gragg received her Ph.D. in Animal Science from Texas Tech University in 2012. Her interest in food science and animal science began during her service in FFA and through Ag education. She has traveled extensively presenting on the topic of food safety and studying processes in food safety and microbiology.