Research is important to building beef demand because it helps the beef industry understand beef purchasing trends and helps build trust among consumers. Also, health professionals are more likely to trust and recommend beef products when research points directly to the nutritional benefits of beef.

Read more about Kansas Beef Council-funded beef research here!

 Research Article 

Ongoing research

• Consumer Beef Sustainability Preferences Compared with Industry and Policy Initiatives
  
• "The purpose of this study is to determine consumer valuation of beef sustainability components and to compare them with cattle and beef industry initiatives and prospective policy."
• A Novel Approach of Using Electrostatic Field to Reduce Thawing Time and Improve Frozen Beef Quality
  
• "The objectives of this study are: to develop and establish the parameters for an EF-assisted thawing method that can mitigate the adverse impacts of conventional freezing and thawing; to characterize the effect of applying EF on thawing speed, yield (purge loss) and beef quality for future applications to the beef industry; to better understand the effect of EF assisted thawing on the subsequent aging effect and myofibrillar protein degradation in beef."
  
• Evaluation of Fresh and Frozen Beef Strip Loins of Equal Aging Periods for Palatability Traits, Consumer Perception, Tenderness, and Physiochemical Properties
  
• "Understanding the quality differences in a true comparison between fresh and frozen beef will allow the industry to continue to make improvements in freezing meat regardless of the methods used for freezing. While some impacts of freezing have already been highlighted in previous studies, understanding consumers perception of fresh and frozen meat at the time of consumption is novel. This project will be the first project to directly compare a fresh and frozen product at the same aging period, therefore providing novel data and conclusions related to the impact of freezing and the impacts on the consumers perception of quality."
  
• Effects of Beef Consumption on Skeletal Muscle Protein Homeostasis and Inflammatory Factors in Postmenopausal Women
  
• Co-funded with NCBA, contractor of the Beef Checkoff
• "The objectives of this study are: to compare the effects of beef as the major dietary source of protein, to a diet featuring plant-based protein sources on muscle protein and whole-body protein kinetics in normal/overweight and obese post-menopausal women; to compare the effects of beef as the primary source of dietary protein with a diet containing plant-based protein sources on skeletal muscle inflammatory markers in normal/overweight and obese post-menopausal women."
  
• Data Pooling Project for Investigation of Beef, Red Meat, Omnivorous Dietary Patterns, and Human Health via Metabolomics and Machine Learning Methods
  
• Co-funded with NCBA, contractor of the Beef Checkoff
• "The objectives of this study are: to establish a research consortium to investigate effects of consuming beef, red meat, and omnivorous dietary patterns on metabolomic and cardiometabolic responses of human research participants by pooling data from randomized controlled feeding studies; to investigate metabolomic biomarkers predictive of habitual consumption of beef in the context of various dietary patterns; to investigate phenotypic characteristics and metabolomic pathways that are predictive of improvements in LDL cholesterol metabolism induced by consuming beef in the context of various dietary patterns."
  

Completed research

• A Comparison of Chemical Composition, Toxicology Screening, Estrogenic Activity, Taste Panel Evaluation and Price of Meat Substitutes Compared to Ground Beef
• Consumer Sensory Evaluation of Plant-Based Ground Beef Alternatives in Comparison to Ground Beef of Various Fat Percentages
• Do Pre-Harvest Interventions Intended for E. coli O157:H7 Affect Fecal Shedding of the “Top Six” Non-O157 E. coli or Salmonella in Feedlot Cattle?
  
• Co-funded with NCBA, contractor of the Beef Checkoff
• E. coli O157:H7 as an Indicator for the "Big 6" STECs
  
• Co-funded with NCBA, contractor of the Beef Checkoff
  

National BEef Research

The Cattlemen's Beef Board and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, a contractor to the beef checkoff, are committed to helping build better beef and bigger beef demand through research. Check out what is happening at the national level here!