Wagyu

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Wagyu

refers to several breeds of cattle genetically predisposed to intense marbling and to producing a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat. The meat from wagyu cattle is known worldwide for its marbling characteristics, increased eating quality through a naturally enhanced flavor, tenderness and juiciness, and thus a high market value. Several areas in Japan are famous for the quality of their Wagyu cattle, and ship beef bearing their areas' names. Some examples are Kobe, Mishima and Ohmi beef.

The wagyu cattle's genetic predisposition yields a beef that contains a higher percentage of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids than typical beef. The increased marbling also improves the ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fats.

History

Japan

Wagyu were initially introduced to Japan to help cultivate rice during the 2nd century. By order of the Shogun, the cowherd in Japan was closed and eating meat from any four legged animal was prohibited from 1635 to 1838. Because of Japan's rugged terrain and isolated areas, different breeding and feeding techniques were used such as massaging or adding beer or sake to their feeding regimen. It is suggested that this was done to aid in digestion and induce hunger during humid seasons but appears to have no effect on the meat's flavor. Massaging may have been to prevent muscle cramping on small farms in Japan in which the animals did not have sufficient room to use their muscles.

There are four major breeds of wagyu (wa means Japanese, and gyū means cattle, or simply "Japanese cow"): Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Polled, and Japanese Shorthorn. Japanese breed names include: Tajima, Tottori, Shimane, Kochi and Kumamoto.

America

In America, Japanese wagyu cattle were bred to Angus cattle to create a crossbred animal that would be more able to survive the U.S. climate and ranching methods. This crossbreed has been named American Style Kobe Beef and was originally produced for export to Japan but is now available world-wide.

Designed to mimic the diet that Japanese cattle were receiving, wagyu cattle in the United States are fed a mixture of corn, alfalfa, barley and wheat straw.

As of 2007 the U.S. cannot ship wagyu beef to Japan as Japan requires that beef imported from the U.S. be from cattle not older than 20 months (wagyu cattle are usually slaughtered at 30–35 months).

Australia

Wagyu and wagyu-infused cattle are bred in Australia for many overseas markets including Japan, Korea, U.S., Hong Kong, Middle East and the European Union. Although they number less than 100,000 of the 28.8 million head of cattle in the country but due to the long fed nature of the wagyu production system, it had resulted in over 40% of feedlot space in any given 12 month period which for a single breed is quite significant. With the continuing drought, increased commodity prices and high Australian dollar are putting pressure on producers, feedlotters, processors and exporters to keep their costs down.