With a long list of accomplishments and honors, Gary Smith championed quality, safety and continuous improvement in the beef industry. His legacy is defined by his unwavering dedication to the industry, his students and his ability to translate complex scientific research into actionable insights.
“He’s an icon,” says Russell Cross, Texas A&M University animal science senior professor. “We call him the dean of meat scientists.”
As an educator, he trained, mentored and inspired college students to be top-notch leaders. A renowned researcher, he never shied away from getting in the trenches and putting in the work.
“There is nobody more impactful as an individual and as a professional in the field of meat science than Dr. Gary Smith,” says John Stika, Certified Angus Beef (CAB) LLC president. “Without argument, some of what we’re enjoying today in the success and profitability of this business goes back to Dr. Smith’s influence.”
Finding His Path
Born and raised in Caddo County, Okla., Smith’s first exposure to protein processing was during his childhood, when his family would gather to harvest livestock and poultry for meat. Witnessing the challenges of drought and economic issues on the farm made an impression on Smith. When choosing a degree path, he settled on teaching agriculture.
Throughout his career, Smith remained motivated by a deeply personal mission: to help people survive, inspired by his family’s experience of losing their farm.
After high school, he headed to California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) to pursue a bachelor’s degree in vocational agricultural education. He completed that degree, spent a year student-teaching high school agriculture classes and quickly decided it was not for him.
At the encouragement of a college adviser, Smith returned to graduate school. He planned to finish a master’s degree and return to the classroom as a junior college instructor.
Although he finished his master’s in animal breeding, it was his time at Washington State University (WSU) that set the pivot for Smith’s next chapter in meat science.
A Chance Opportunity
While finishing graduate school at WSU, Gene Ensminger, WSU department head at the time, tapped Smith to fill a vacant meat science professor position.
After four years teaching meat science at WSU, Smith took a leave of absence and went to Texas A&M. There, he completed a doctorate under famed animal scientist, O.D. Butler.
“I got into [meat science], I loved it and spent the rest of my life trying to be better at it,” Smith says.
His career path included 21 years at Texas A&M. Professor from 1969 to 1982 and animal science department head from 1982 to 1990. He then transitioned to Colorado State University (CSU) where he occupied the Ken and Myra Monfort Endowed Chair in Meat Science at from June 1990 to 2014.
Groundbreaking Career
In the span of 60 years, Smith’s body of work varied and expanded greatly. In the early years, he was educating people on how to cure meat with the right combination of salt, nitrate and nitrite. By retirement, his research had touched all corners of meat science — a nod to one of his top qualities: the ability to keep an ear to the ground on what problems existed and where solutions needed to be found.
“He was always good at saying we need to take this research and give producers some marching orders,” says Brad Morgan, senior director of protein at Performance Food Group.
Smith has been at the forefront of studies on beef palatability, food safety, product packaging, beef shelf life, transoceanic shipment of meat and food safety, including mitigation of E. coli 0157:H7, Salmonella and Listeria in packing plants.
“He was fearless at tackling problems,” Morgan summarizes. “He would not only find an industry problem, but he would get it implemented and validate it.”
Alongside a team of researchers from Texas A&M and CSU, Smith pioneered the National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA). Other notable industry research projects include the International Beef Quality Audit, National Consumer Retail Beef Study and exploring USDA beef quality and yield grade standards.
His research had a direct impact on the trajectory of CAB, exploring the importance of marbling and its influence on flavor and tenderness. Passionate about marbling, advocating for its importance when many in the industry were skeptical. He famously used a butter analogy to explain marbling, comparing it to adding butter to mashed potatoes to enhance flavor.
The infamous War on Fat was fought during Smith’s research tenure. There was a belief that cattle had too much backfat and the issue needed to be rectified. Getting rid of the waste fat, while simultaneously keeping the “taste fat,” proved to be the answer — one Smith says saved the beef industry.
“It took us time,” Smith says. “Fortunately, there were people who went the right direction. CAB did it. The industry as a whole did it.”
Smith was also instrumental in proposing the idea to quantify the quality of beef produced from Hereford and Hereford-influenced cattle. Because of his influence in pushing the project forward, it led to the investment by the American Hereford Association (AHA) to form the Certified Hereford Beef (CHB) program.
“The things I enjoyed the most were getting involved with people who were in the trenches trying to make a living, trying to make a better life for themselves and others,” Smith says. “We just helped them by finding ways to use research.”
Smith has taught thousands of students and mentored hundreds of graduate students. Many of those past students are industry leaders in research, academia and government roles.
To Cross, a former colleague who worked alongside Smith for decades, Smith’s unique teaching and communication style bring out students’ ideas and inspire them to ask questions.
It’s part of what made him such an admired educator and the recipient of many teaching awards.
Now retired from academia, Smith’s passion is still present. It’s not uncommon to see him in the halls of Texas A&M’s buildings, dropping off news articles and notes he’s meticulously written for those still actively doing research and teaching college courses.
Industry Recognitions
Smith has been recognized with numerous honors, including:
- Distinguished Research Award and Distinguished Teaching Award from both the American Society of Animal Science and the American Meat Science Association
- National Association of Meat Purveyors Outstanding Educator Award
- National Livestock Grading and Marketing Association Service Award
- 1992 Livestock Publications Council Headliner Award
- 2005 American Hereford Association Hall of Merit Inductee
- 2021 Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame Industry Leadership Award
- 2025 Certified Angus Beef Industry Achievement Award
Smith’s extraordinary career fundamentally transformed the meat science industry. His research helped all sectors of the industry from cow-calf to feedlots to packers and consumers. He wasn’t just a researcher but a mentor, communicator and industry advocate.
