Kobe beef (神戸ビーフ, Kōbe Bīfu?) refers to beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle, raised according to strict tradition in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. These practices may include a diet of sake and beer, and daily massages to relieve muscle stiffness, presumably resulting in tender meat.Kobe beef is also called "Kobe-niku" (神戸肉, "Kobe-niku"? lit. Kobe meat), "Kobe-gyū" (神戸牛, "Kobe-gyū"? lit Kobe cow) or "Kobe-ushi" (神戸牛, "Kobe-ushi"? lit Kobe cow) in Japanese. Wagyu ("Japanese Cattle") are renowned for flavour, tenderness, and fatty well-marbled texture, qualities enhanced by the traditional (and well guarded) methods of raising Kobe beef.Kobe beef can be prepared as steak, sukiyaki, shabu shabu, sashimi, teppanyaki, ground hamburger patties and more.

Evidence has surfaced suggesting that Americans and others are probably already eating meat from the offspring of clones. Executives from the nation's major cattle cloning companies conceded yesterday that they have not been able to keep track of how many offspring of clones have entered the food supply, despite a years-old request by the FDA.

We should all ask ourselves this question. Do we really want to continue to eat animals, or will their cloned body parts satisfy us? While looking an animal in the eye, I wonder how many of us could really do what is necessary to provide that meat.

A long-awaited final report from the Food and Drug Administration concludes that foods from healthy cloned animals and their offspring are as safe as those from ordinary animals, effectively removing the last U.S. regulatory barrier to marketing meat and milk from cloned cattle, pigs and goats.Where's the beef? Over there in the Petri dish!

The benefits of grass-feeding livestock instead of a corn- or grain-based diet are far reaching. In this particular case, its positive effects are being felt yet again as the risk of E. coli contamination in the meat we eat lessens when cattle are fed a natural dried-grass diet.

In the first six months of 2007, the US Food Safety and Inspection Service recalled over seven million pounds of red meat. And the number of cases of people getting sick from contaminated beef is growing as fast as E. coli in an overcrowded cattle pen.