By Whitney Baxter
On a chilly October morning, students gathered inside one of the processing rooms of the Meats Laboratory in Kildee Hall, where the temperature was colder than it was outside. Wearing white lab coats, hairnets and gloves, each student focused on cutting ham into different pieces, putting into practice what they learned in the classroom.
Under the instruction of Caroline Downey, assistant teaching professor in animal science, Animal Science 2700: Foods of Animal Origin and its corresponding lab teach students how to grade beef, chicken, lamb and pork carcasses and assign value to them. That knowledge, combined with an understanding of where different cuts of meat come from on the animal, will be useful when students go to the store to buy meat products – specifically, which cut offers the best value in terms of price and quality.
“Being able to learn the parts and the muscles and the bones has been really cool and unique to me,” said Ava Kerns, a junior in agricultural studies. “If I’m picking out a steak to eat or a pork chop, I will know a little more about what pork has the best marbling and tenderness or the same with steaks.”
Downey said that’s the primary purpose of the class and lab – to teach students about the products they’re consuming.
“At the end of the day, I hope they understand how value is assigned throughout the meat industry and the food industry – how do we assign value to the animals, how do we assign value to the carcasses and how is that value transferred into those different cuts – where the cuts come from, how the food products that they’re purchasing in the store are made,” Downey said.
Once the class has honed their meat cutting skills, the meat is packaged and frozen or further processed into products such as bacon, boneless ham or sausage before being distributed. Iowa State University students employed by the Meats Lab assist with this process. Some of the meat products are sold in the Meats Lab sales room in Kildee Hall, which is open on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Other products are donated to the SHOP (Students Helping Our Peers) food pantry on campus or to Passel Provides, an organization that gives food to Iowa communities in need.
“If you haven’t been to the Meats Lab or you haven’t taken a class in the Meats Lab, it’s a great way to see where your food comes from and see how that connects back to other parts of agriculture,” Downey said. “If you can’t make it to the lab or take a class, you should at least check out the retail store and meet some of our students.”