ming off excess fat, we measured the ribeye area (REA)
of steak samples using an industry-standard plastic
measurement grid (ISU 1989). We gave each sample a
marbling score for grading purposes using the official
USDA standard method (USDA 1997). Marbling scores
were converted to a 10-point-increment scale ranging
from slight (300), through small (400), modest (500),
and moderate (600), to slightly abundant (700; Platter
et al. 2003). For grading, we assumed beef cattle were
slaughtered at less than 30 months of age, based on
common practices in Kaua‘i.