Editing Meat (section)

=== Selective breeding ===

Modern agriculture employs techniques such as [[progeny testing]] to speed [[selective breeding]], allowing the rapid acquisition of the qualities desired by meat producers.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}} For instance, in the wake of well-publicized health concerns associated with [[saturated fat]]s in the 1980s, the fat content of United Kingdom beef, pork and lamb fell from 20–26 percent to 4–8 percent within a few decades, due to both selective breeding for leanness and changed methods of butchery.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}}  Methods of [[genetic engineering]] that could improve the meat-producing qualities of animals are becoming available.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}}

Meat production continues to be shaped by the demands of customers. The trend towards selling meat in pre-packaged cuts has increased the demand for larger breeds of cattle, better suited to producing such cuts.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}}  Animals not previously exploited for their meat are now being farmed, including mammals such as [[antelope]], zebra, [[water buffalo]] and camel,{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}}  as well as non-mammals, such as crocodile, [[emu]] and ostrich.{{sfn|Lawrie|Ledward|2006|pp=10–14}} [[Organic farming]] supports an increasing demand for meat produced to that standard.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/Demand-for-organic-meat-on-the-rise-says-Soil-Association |title=Demand for organic meat on the rise, says Soil Association |date=July 28, 2016 |access-date=January 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012021608/http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/Demand-for-organic-meat-on-the-rise-says-Soil-Association|archive-date=October 12, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=220 heights=180>
File:Lamb meat.jpg|A shoulder of [[Lamb and mutton|lamb]]
File:Hereford bull large.jpg|A [[Hereford (cattle)|Hereford]] bull, a breed of beef cattle
File:SelectionOfPackageMeats.jpg|Supermarket meat, North America
</gallery>