SAMA HOOLE: A5 Wagyu can be 50% fat. It's extraordinarily expensive because it's extraordinarily well-marbled. Japanese consumers understand that the fat is valuable. They pay premium prices for it.…

Japanese Wagyu beef is graded on marbling.

More fat = higher grade = higher price.

A5 Wagyu can be 50% fat. It's extraordinarily expensive because it's extraordinarily well-marbled.

Japanese consumers understand that the fat is valuable. They pay premium prices for it.… pic.twitter.com/qTv2jb5XEI

— Sama Hoole (@SamaHoole) December 13, 2025

Japanese Wagyu beef is graded on marbling. More fat = higher grade = higher price. A5 Wagyu can be 50% fat. It's extraordinarily expensive because it's extraordinarily well-marbled. Japanese consumers understand that the fat is valuable. They pay premium prices for it. Japanese farmers breed for maximum marbling because that's what the market rewards. The result: Japanese beef is the most expensive and most sought-after in the world. Japanese cattle farmers are profitable. The beef industry thrives. Compare this to Western countries where fat has been demonised: - UK requires fat trimming for "health" - Canada regulates maximum fat content - USA changed grading to reduce fat - EU provides subsidies for leaner cattle The beef gets worse. Farmers get squeezed. Consumers get inferior products. Japan does the opposite and has thriving beef industry with premium products. The difference isn't resources or land or climate. It's policy. When you reward quality (fat content), you get quality. When you punish quality (fat content), you get mediocrity. Japanese Wagyu proves that beef fat is valuable, delicious, and marketable when you're not actively sabotaging it with health panic and regulatory restrictions.

The West could learn from this. But we won't, because the grain and processed food industries would lose too much market share if people started seeking out fattier beef.