Science / Medicine : Drugs Cut Fat Content of Meat

Drugs that mimic the action of adrenalin can boost protein and cut fat in lamb, beef and pork, according to Donald H. Beermann of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

“We can markedly improve the composition of the carcass from which retail cuts are taken,” he said. The drugs also increase the efficiency of meat production, raising yields while decreasing the amount of feed required.

David L. Meeker, a scientist with the National Pork Producers Council, said farmers generally favor such drugs but are concerned about becoming dependent upon the large biotechnology companies that produce them. Meeker said that because many low-fat meats are on the market, the most important effect of the drugs would be to increase farmers’ efficiency.

Low-fat meat has been produced partly by breeding low-fat cattle and pigs, but mainly by trimming more fat off the meat as it is butchered, said Meeker.

The adrenalin-like drugs are a class of drugs called beta agonists. Beermann found that beta agonists increased muscle mass in the hind legs of lambs by as much as 40% and boosted total protein content by 20% to 25%. At the same time, the drugs cut fat content by 10% to 20%, Beermann said.

In cattle, the drugs raised muscle mass by 60% to 70% and cut the amount of fat tissue by more than one-third. The drugs increased pigs’ muscle mass by 12%, thereby reducing the fat content. But one side effect of some beta agonists is that they can make the meat tougher, Beermann said.