Belgian Blue

Belgian Blue is a breed of beef cattle from Belgium. These cattle are referred to in French as Race de la Moyenne et Haute Belgique, or, more commonly, Blanc Bleu Belge. Alternative names for this breed include Belgian Blue-White; Belgian White and Blue Pied; Belgian White Blue; Blue; and Blue Belgian. The Belgian Blue's sculpted, heavily muscled appearance is known as "double-muscling". The double-muscling phenotype is a heritable condition which results in the increased number of muscle fibers (hyperplasia) rather than the normal enlargement of individual muscle fibers (hypertrophy). This particular trait is shared with another breed of cattle known as Piedmontese. Both of these breeds have an increased ability to convert feed into lean muscle, which causes these particular breeds' meat to have a reduced fat content. The Belgian Blue is named after their typically blue-grey mottled hair colour, however its colour can vary from white to black.