Texas Tech’s newest science class cooks up a surprise for students

Post by Stratton Sims
Alpha Media USA Intern

Taught by the same students who brought home a national championship in meat judging, ‘The
Meat We Eat’ class was recently introduced as a science class to the students enrolled at the
university.
The class is exactly what it sounds like as it takes a deep dive into meat production, selection
and meat-eating.
Covering all topics such as pros and cons of red meat consumption, environmental impacts of the
meat industry and the overall science behind red meats, students learn in a hands on matter as
they find themselves in this class.
Taking place in the Texas Tech Gordon W. Davis Meat Lab which opened in 2005, students also
have the opportunity to see parts of campus many never knew of during their enrollment at the
university.
Thanks to the help of Red Raider Meats, students get a first-hand look at just how the meat
industry works and can serve Lubbock citizens with an immediate impact.
While most time will be spent in the classroom learning about red meat, other opportunities
presented by the class also call for time in the kitchen.
Students will be able to learn all aspects of cooking red meat, from preparation to how to cook
and to presentation, all in a hands-on manner.
Of course the meat that is cooked does not go to waste as they will be able to eat the meat that
they cook during class, allowing for them to understand the difference in meats, types of cuts,
degree of doneness and proper methods to enhance consumption.
Students have the ability to take the popular class and receive three credited hours which fulfill
the ‘Life and Physical Science’ requirements within the university's core curriculum.
‘The Meat We Eat’ also offers a lab-portion part of the class, which students can enroll in to
accumulate one credited hour towards ‘Lab Sciences’ within the universities graduation
requirements.

Just last week, the Texas Tech Meat Science department had the opportunity to travel to the San
Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo to provide knowledge to visitors on what is taught within this
class.
Representatives for the department engaged in different activities like meat processing, meat
cooking and even spoke on agriculture topics that are important currently in our world.
If you are looking to get a taste of what students might just be learning in ‘The Meat We Eat’
stop by the campus at Red Raider Meats to try red meats that are processed and cooked just as
taught in the class.