In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw and a dark color after it is cooked, in contrast to

white meat, which is pale in color before and after cooking.[1][2] In culinary terms, only flesh from
mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified as red or white.[3][4] In nutritional science, red meat is defined
as any meat that has more of the protein myoglobin than white meat. White meat is defined as non-dark
meat from fish or chicken (excluding the leg or thigh).

Definition

Concentration of myoglobin by percentage of mass

Name Myoglobin USDA category

Chicken breast 0.005%[5] White meat[6]

Chicken thigh 0.18 – 0.20%[5] Dark meat

Turkey thigh 0.25 – 0.30%[5] Dark meat

Pork 0.10 – 0.30%[5] Red meat[6]

Veal 0.10 – 0.30%[5] Red meat[6]

Beef 0.40 – 1.00%[5] Red meat[6]

Old beef 1.50 – 2.00%[5] Red meat[6]

Cooked duck with potatoes, showing the red color of the meat

Under the culinary definition, the meat from adult or "gamey" mammals (for example, beef, horse meat,
mutton, venison, boar, hare) is red meat, while that from young mammals (rabbit, veal, lamb) is white.
Poultry is white. Most cuts of pork are red, others are white.[7] Game is sometimes put in a separate
category altogether. (French: viandes noires — "dark meats".)[4] Some meats (lamb, pork) are classified
differently by different writers.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), all meats obtained from mammals
(regardless of cut or age) are red meats because they contain more myoglobin than fish or white meat
(but not necessarily dark meat)[5] from chicken.[6] Some cuts of pork are considered white under the
culinary definition, but all pork is considered red meat in nutritional studies. The National Pork Board has
positioned it as "the other white meat", profiting from the ambiguity to suggest that pork has the
nutritional properties of white meat, which is considered more healthful.[8][9]
Nutrition

Red meat contains large amounts of iron, creatine, minerals such as zinc and phosphorus, and B-
vitamins: (niacin, vitamin B12, thiamin and riboflavin).[10] Red meat is a source of lipoic acid.

Red meat contains small amounts of vitamin D.[11] Offal such as liver contains much higher quantities
than other parts of the animal.[12]

In 2011, the USDA launched MyPlate, which did not distinguish between kinds of meat, but did
recommend eating at least 8 oz (230 g) of fish each week.[13][14] In 2011, the Harvard School of Public
Health launched the Healthy Eating Plate in part because of the perceived inadequacies of the USDA's
recommendations.[13] The Healthy Eating Plate encourages consumers to avoid processed meat and
limit red meat consumption to twice a week because of links to heart disease, diabetes, and colon
cancer. To replace these meats it recommends consuming fish, poultry, beans, or nuts.[13]