The Meat Science Quiz Bowl Team is a fun and encouraging way to learn about all topics associated with Meat Science. The team is comprised of undergraduate students who are interested in a competitive knowledge-based forum on Meat Science topics. The team begins practice in the spring, and travels to compete at the Reciprocal Meat Conference hosted by the American Meat Science Association. The competition is held in the summer, around the third week of June. The team practices in the evenings, two to three times a week. As the competition gets closer, the team may practice more.
A list of topics covered is skeletal and muscle anatomy, muscle ultrastructure, food safety, processed meats, history of important dates and people, and current events. Professors volunteer their time to cover topics of their field of interest, in order to prepare the Texas A&M team to the best of its ability for competition day!
The competition is held on the Sunday before the Reciprocal Meat Conference kicks off.
The teams are comprised of three undergraduate students, and universities can have a maximum of two teams. Texas A&M typically takes seven undergraduates, with one undergraduate serving as an alternate. The competition is fast and fierce! There are 40 questions that are asked, 18 of which are head to head between certain individuals of the teams, and the remaining questions are open for all to answer. A question is asked, and a team member has 5 seconds to buzz in and 5 seconds to answer. The competition is quick, and Texas A&M is no exception.
After the competition is completed, the students have the ability to attend the Reciprocal Meat Conference. There is a wide array of topics that are discussed, research that is presented, and key industry leaders to network with. It is a great opportunity for students to listen, learn, and discuss to understand the opportunities that are available in the Meat Science industry. There are many opportunities and events to have fun and meet undergraduates from universities all over the United States.
If you are interested in Meat Science, and are looking for a fun and challenging way to increase your knowledge base, please contact Clay Eastwood (leastwood@tamu.edu) for more information. Dr. Dan Hale (dhale@tamu.edu) is the Meat Science faculty coordinator for the team.
You can also search the American Meat Science Association home page for more information on the Reciprocal Meat Conference.