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Dr. Louise Vanlommel (at left) and student Ivanka van Hees from Ghent University deliver a Belgian Blue calf via caesarean section at a small farm in Flanders, Belgium. Belgian Blue cattle have been selectively bred to carry a gene that suppresses a protein that limits muscle growth, giving rise to massive “double-muscled” animals prized for producing more beef—and more-tender beef—on less feed than the average bovine. The downside is a condition called dystocia, or difficult birth, due to a combination of greater birth weight of the calf and reduced pelvic opening, causing an estimated 90 percent or more of Belgian Blues to require caesarean delivery.

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Dr. Louise Vanlommel (at left) and student Ivanka van Hees from Ghent University deliver a Belgian Blue calf via caesarean section at a small farm in Flanders, Belgium. Belgian Blue cattle have been selectively bred to carry a gene that suppresses a protein that limits muscle growth, giving rise to massive “double-muscled” animals prized for producing more beef—and more-tender beef—on less feed than the average bovine. The downside is a condition called dystocia, or difficult birth, due to a combination of greater birth weight of the calf and reduced pelvic opening, causing an estimated 90 percent or more of Belgian Blues to require caesarean delivery.

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