{"id":3285,"date":"2026-05-12T11:25:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/?p=3285"},"modified":"2026-05-12T11:25:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:25:50","slug":"beyond-the-plate-understanding-meat-science-with-dr-katierose-mccullough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/2026\/05\/beyond-the-plate-understanding-meat-science-with-dr-katierose-mccullough\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Plate: Understanding Meat Science with Dr. KatieRose McCullough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meat holds a significant place in United States households and adds billions to the economy. The 2025 Meat Institute annual report <\/a>states that 98% of American households buy meat, 81% see themselves as meat eaters, and 73% view meat as a healthy option overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the fifth episode of the second season of the Agricurious podcast<\/a>, Dennis Baffour-Awuah <\/a>spoke to Dr. KatieRose McCullough<\/a>, President and Chief Scientist of the Meat Foundation<\/a> and Director of Science and Public Health at the Meat Institute<\/a>, who shared insights into meat science, the challenges facing the meat industry, and innovations that could shape its future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. McCullough explained that meat science goes far beyond simply producing or processing meat. According to her, the field also involves improving taste, ensuring consistency, maintaining safety, and addressing problems when unusual situations arise. In many ways, she explained, meat science exists at the intersection of safety, taste, consistency, and nutrition.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pressing Food Safety Challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Discussing the food safety challenges facing the industry, Dr. McCullough explained that while some issues have been successfully resolved, others remain more complex and require equally complex solutions. One key challenge she pointed out was controlling Salmonella. She observed that, unlike E. coli<\/em>, where control measures have seen significant progress, Salmonella still presents difficulties. \u201cWe can\u2019t determine the proper controls for Salmonella. So, how do we manage something that is widespread in some species? It’s going to be a complicated solution,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When discussing how scientists and industry leaders can better explain food safety practices and research on meat consumption to the public, Dr. McCullough emphasized the importance of trust and communication. She explained that communication itself is a science and that traditional meat scientists, food microbiologists, and other experts should either educate themselves on communication strategies or collaborate with communication specialists. She added that building trust requires understanding consumers and addressing their concerns, rather than focusing solely on what industry players believe is important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research Needs and Innovation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. McCullough also highlighted key research gaps in the industry, using Salmonella as an example. She noted that one of the main challenges isn’t just detecting Salmonella but quantifying its presence. Although some tests are available, she mentioned they often lack the speed or accuracy needed for immediate food safety decisions. She emphasized the value of partnerships with academic institutions in addressing these gaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we are continually always finding gaps, and I think an important part of the meat foundation is to stay on top of what those gaps are, how do we find them, and how do we close them?\u201d she said. Looking to the future, Dr. McCullough sees AI and machine learning as potential gamechangers for the meat industry in the next decade. She explained that, given the vast data the industry collects, these technologies could help make operations more predictive and proactive rather than reactive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice for Young Researchers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For young researchers interested in agriculture, food systems, and public health, Dr. McCullough encouraged the importance of adopting a systems-wide perspective. She noted that while developing expertise in a specific area is important, understanding the broader, interconnected systems is equally necessary, especially for policymaking and science communication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also advised early-career scientists to stay open-minded, build networks, and actively engage with others despite the increasingly virtual nature of communication today. She encouraged young researchers not to be intimidated when reaching out to industry professionals for opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ll tell you this: that industry person is probably more scared of you than you are of them. They are people, too, and socially awkward themselves. So let me tell you, I will say ask questions, seek those internships, ask for those jobs. The answer is always going to be no unless you ask. So just keep putting yourself out there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to the conversation with Dr. McCullough here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meat holds a significant place in United States households and adds billions to the economy. The 2025 Meat Institute annual report states that 98% of American households buy meat, 81% see themselves as meat eaters, and 73% view meat as a healthy option overall. In the fifth episode of the second season of the Agricurious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1005,"featured_media":3291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,23,60],"tags":[62],"class_list":["post-3285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal_prod","category-environment","category-scicomm","tag-baffour-awuah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1005"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3285"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3294,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3285\/revisions\/3294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/lammlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}