Expertise:
Regenerative Agriculture, Meat Authentication, Food Nutrient Density, Grass-Fed Beef, Meat Sensory Analysis, Grazing Management, One-Health, Metabolomics, TranscriptomicsLucas Krusinski is interested in the effects of agricultural practices on food nutrient density, animal welfare and agroecological outcomes. He investigates crop-livestock integrated systems, the effects of environmental conditions on animal welfare and uses PCR and Mass Spectrometry tools to measure gene expression, nutrient density and the metabolic profile of cattle on different diets.
As consumer demand and willingness to pay premium for perceived health benefits of grass-fed beef continues to rise, there is a need to implement a system to authenticate grass-fed beef labelling. About 80% of grass-fed meat in the U.S. is imported from Australia or New Zealand, pushing some producers to cut corners and compete with that supply. Krusinski was part of a team that developed a method to successfully identifiy beef fed pasture/hay with 100% accuracy and beef fed baleage/soybean hulls with 97% accuracy. The team is now working to develop scalable, less expensive testing methods that achieve similar results. In the Krusinski Lab, he and Cal Poly Pomona students investigate the effects of agricultural practices on meat nutrient density and authenticity for consumer labelling — measuring fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and animal health biomarkers in beef. His current research includes projects focused on the use of supplemental feeds and agricultural by-products used to enhance meat nutrient density and animal welfare.
Recent Grants and Fellowships:
- PI – CSU Agricultural Research Institute, Cattle diet supplementation with arginine and profile to facilitate high tannin-containing feedstuff digestion and metabolism, $10,000 (2025-2026)
- With J.I. Fenton and J.E. Rowntree, Co-PI, Greenacres Foundation, Building the grass-finished beef database: Nutrient density and transcriptomics, $399,935 (2024-2027)
- With J.I. Fenton, S. van Vliet and J.E. Rowntree, Collaborator, Greenacres Foundation, Beef Phytochemical/phenol secondary analysis: Enhancing the phytochemical richness of beef by grass-finishing systems, $145,000 (2023-2024)
- PI – USDA- North Central SARE Graduate Student Grant, Enhancing the polyphenolic content and demand of Upper Midwestern, locally produced beef, $15,000 (2021-2023)
- With J.I. Fenton and J.E. Rowntree, Collaborator, Greenacres Foundation, Greenacres grass-fed beef nutritional database, $300,557 (2020-2023)
- With J.I. Fenton and J.E. Rowntree, Collaborator, Michigan Department of Agriculture/Rural Development, enhancing healthfulness and demand of Michigan produced beef, $143,162 (2018-2021)
- With J.I. Fenton and J.E. Rowntree, Collaborator, USDA NIFA – NCR SARE, Enhancing healthfulness and demand of Upper Midwestern, locally produced beef, $199,149 (2018-2021)
Selected Publications:
- With C. Smith, R. Cohen, S. Kawecki, A.J. Garmyn, J.I. Fenton and A.C. Rowat, “Design Principles of Cells for Eatability and Scalability of Cultivated Meat,” Trends Food Science Technology forthcoming Nov. 2025
- With Y. Ibarra, S. Silva, D.R. Sanchez-Jacinto, M.R. Houchin, J.G. Frias, L.A. Garcia-Portillo and S. Siddiq, “Cattle hair cortisol concentrations may be used to estimate natural particulate matter exposure,” Vet. Anim. Sci. forthcoming Oct. 2025
- With C. Castanon, R.S. Hellberg, I.C.F. Maciel, M. Ahsin, S. van Vliet, J.E. Rowntree and J.I. Fenton, “Highly Targeted Metabolomics Coupled With Gene Expression Analysis by RT- qPCR Improved Beef Separation Based on Grass, Grain or Grape Supplemented Diet,” Food Frontiers, April 2025
- With I.C.F. Maciel, S. van Vliet, M. Ahsin, J. Adams, G. Lu, C.A. Bitler, J.E. Rowntree and J.I. Fenton, “Fatty acids and secondary metabolites can predict grass-finished beef and cattle supplemental feeds,” npj Science of Food, Oct. 2024
- With I.C.F., S. van Vliet, M. Ahsin, G. Lu, J.E. Rowntree and J.I. Fenton, “Measuring the Phytochemical Richness of Meat: Effects of Grass/Grain Finishing Systems and Grapeseed Extract Supplementation on the Fatty Acid and Phytochemical Content of Beef,” Foods Vol. 12, Iss. 19, Sep. 2023
- With I.C.F. Maciel. S. Sergin, V. Jambunathan, E. Garg, A.J. Garmyn, S. Singh, C.A. Bitler, J.E. Rowntree and J.I. Fenton, “Effects of Hay, Baleage, and Soybean Hulls Waste Used as Supplemental Feeds on the Nutritional Profile of Grass-Finished Beef,” Foods Vol. 11, Iss. 23, Nov. 2022
- With I.C.F. Maciel. S. Sergin, T. Goeden, J. Schweihofer, S. Singh, J.E. Rowntree and J.I. Fenton, “Fatty Acid and Micronutrient Profile of Longissimus Lumborum from Red Angus and Red Angus X Akaushi Cattle Finished on Grass or Grain,” Foods Vol. 11, Iss. 21, Oct. 2022
- With I.C.F. Maciel, S. Sergin, T. Goeden, H. Ali, S. Kesamneni, V. Jambunathan, K.A. Cassida, S. Singh, I.G. Medina-Meza, J.E. Rowntree and J.I. Fenton, “Evaluation of fatty acid and antioxidant variation in a complex pasture system as compared to standard cattle feed in the Great Lakes Region,” Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Sept. 2022
- With S. Sergin, V. Jambunathan, J.E. Rowntree and J.I. Fenton, “Attention to the Details: How Variations in U.S. Grass-Fed Cattle-Feed Supplementation and Finishing Date Influence Human Health,” Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, May 2022
- With B. Faraji, L. Jahns, M.R. Bukowski, T. Thompson-Johnson, J. Lawson-Goldberg, C. Brooks, S. Snyder, “Skin Carotenoid Status of Black/African American College Students Correlates with Plasma Carotenoids and Fruit and Vegetable Intake Independent of Skin Tone,” International Journal of Clinical Nutritional & Dietetics, Jan. 2022
Interviews:
- “Classification Model and Authenticity Markers in Grass-Fed Beef,” Food Authenticity Network, April 28, 2025
- “Optimization health qualities of beef: MSU scientists analyzing how nutrients in beef are impacted by what cattle eat,” Michigan State University AgBioResearch, March 26, 2025
- “Grain-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef: What’s the Difference?” ZeroHedge, Jan. 10, 2025
Education:
B.S., Nutritional Sciences, Morgan State University
Ph.D., Food Science, Michigan State University
GCI Postdoctoral Fellow, Food Science, Chapman University
Languages:
French, German, English