The present invention relates to the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in urotensin II (UTS2) and urotensin 2 receptor (UTS2R) genes and their associations with beef marbling score (BMS), ribeye area (REA), amounts of saturated (rSFA) and monounsaturated (rMUFA), and .DELTA..sup.9 desaturase activity R.sub.2=16:1 to 16:0. The invention further encompasses methods and systems, including network-based processes, to manage the SNP data, haplotype data and other data relating to specific animals and herds of animals, veterinarian care, diagnostic and quality control data and management of livestock which, based on genotyping, have predictable meat quality traits, husbandry conditions, animal welfare, food safety information, audit of existing processes and data from field locations.