Growth Regulation in Farm Animals: Advances in meat research

Growth regulation in farm animals is a topic of interest to animal scientists and livestock producers, and also of fundamental importance to muscle biochemists and meat scientists. Recently the increased consumer awareness of the importance of reducing fat consumption by humans has increased the emphasis on production of leaner meat. Reduction of fatness in farm animals can be achieved either by limiting feed intake or by metabolic regulation of the growth process to produce more lean or muscle tissue while simultaneously decreasing the fat content of the carcass by other means, such as raising of intact males in place of castrates, and administration of hormones and other compounds to stimulate growth and muscle deposition.