indigestible plant compounds Meat color is a good indicator of its iron content; red beef and lamb contain on average two to three times as much as pale pork; relatively dark pork shoulder contains twice as much as the loin Production Methods and Meat Quality Full-flavored meat comes from animals that have led a full life However, exercise and age also increase muscle fiber diameter and the cross-linking of connective tissue: so a full life also means tougher meat In centuries past, most people ate mature, tough, strongly flavored meat, and developed long-cooked recipes to soften it Today, most of us eat young, tender, mild meat that is at its best quickly cooked; long-cooking often dries it out This shift in meat quality has resulted from a shift in the way the animals are raised Rural and Urban Styles of Meat There are two traditional, indeed ancient ways of obtaining meat from animals, and they produce meats of distinctive qualities One method is to raise animals primarily for their value as living companions — oxen and horses for their work in the fields, laying hens for their eggs, cows and sheep and goats for their milk and for wool — and turn them into meat only when they are no longer productive In this system, slaughtering animals for meat is the last use of a resource that is more valuable when alive The meat comes from mature animals, and is therefore well exercised and relatively tough, lean but flavorful This method was by far the most common one from prehistoric times until the 19th century The second way of obtaining meat from animals is to raise the animals exclusively for that purpose This means feeding the animals well, sparing them unnecessary exercise, and ... for their value as living companions — oxen and horses for their work in the fields, laying hens for their eggs, cows and sheep and goats for their milk and for wool — and turn them into meat only when they are no longer...Rural and Urban Styles of Meat There are two traditional, indeed ancient ways of obtaining meat from animals, and they produce meats of distinctive qualities One method is to raise animals primarily... well exercised and relatively tough, lean but flavorful This method was by far the most common one from prehistoric times until the 19th century The second way of obtaining meat from animals is to raise the animals exclusively for