Despite roasting a whole cow in Japan on my 20th birthday, working on a farm in Hokkaido and being a fan of Japanese cuisine, the term "Wagyu" just wasn't something I had spent much time thinking about. It means "Japanese cow" and has become synonymous with high quality beef, that much I knew. But why does it have such a stellar reputation? What are the different kinds of Wagyu? What's the difference between Wagyu in the states vs the Wagyu in Japan? And how can I get some?

We wanted to answer these questions and we wanted to bring Wagyu to Crowd Cow in time for the holidays.

After interviewing experts (including one of the original people responsible for bringing Wagyu to the United States in the 1970s and the President of the American Wagyu Association), consulting Japanese-language source materials, touring the leading Wagyu genetics facility in the United States and visiting many Wagyu ranches (including walking the fields and witnessing a sustainable harvest with my 5-year-old son), we are ready to publish our findings.

Please read: What is Wagyu?