Meat produced by Japanese Black cattle and Wagyu

• In Japan, Wagyu cattle include four types of Japanese cattle: the Black, Brown, Shorthorn, and Polled breeds. The famous brand name Wagyu includes not only Japanese Black cattle produced in Japan, but also animals or even crossbred Japanese Black cattle produced in foreign countries such as Australia or the USA. • In recent years, the intramuscular fat percentage of beef from Japanese Black cattle has been greater than 30%. Japanese Black is genetically predisposed to producing carcass lipids containing greater concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids than other foreign breeds. • Japanese Black cattle have unique physiological properties and specific dynamics of important intra muscular genes expression. However, there are still unknown reasons for why Japanese Black cattle can produce highly marbled beef. • The strict management for Japanese Black cattle production has several problems, including its high production costs, circulation of untreated excrement, the requirement for imported feed, and the food security risk resulting from numerous viral diseases introduced by imported feed. The feeding system should shift to be more efficient and provide improved conditions for farmers, food security for consumers, and healthier environments for residents.