Well, it's more like the lifestyle/function of the animal that determines the type of fiber that predominates, and that, in turn, determines the type of meat we categorize it as. The composition of the muscle fiber determines the general color of it, and fast twitch, type II fibers, generally have very little myoglobin, which is the protein integral in the oxidation process used to power type I fibers. The myoglobin is a dark-colored protein, and thus gives the traditional difference between what we see when we classify something as white meat or dark meat. Type I muscle, obviously, has a lot of it.
So, it's not quite black and white, but generally, yes.
Like, for example, the thigh muscle of a migratory bird may well be 'white' meat, because their legs don't operate for such extended periods of time as their breast muscles do while flying, and therefore will not have as much type I muscle as their wing muscles would.
Turkey, on the other hand, (and especially the supermarket bought ones) generally uses their wings for little more than flapping at the dude who's about to gut and feather them, so there is VERY little type I meat in the wings, while they do stand on their legs for long periods of time, which will give them a higher dark meat content in their legs versus their breasts. (Not to mention the specific genetic breeding to enhance the meat production to the farm's desired specifications)
So you can get overall trends in animals though, by looking at what they do.... migratory duck is going to have a fattier meat than cooped-up chicken, and hibernating Yogi Bear is going to have fattier meat than an African Cheetah.
Now, with regard to what is classified as "white" or "red" meat, that's more of a social custom to refer to certain animals in each way, as far as I know. Humans, as with most muscled animals, have some of each muscle type, but generally don't have any body parts that would be as polarized as, say, the wing tissue of a migratory bird, so all of their tissue, even the stuff that has relatively large amounts of type II muscle, is going to look red/dark to the butcher, or whomever is assiging the white/red meat connotation.
As I'm explaining it from my recollection of notes and lectures and things, it may sound a bit disjointed...
Check this out...they're pretty concise and, as far as I can tell, accurate.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/meat/INT-what-meat-color.html
So, it's not quite black and white, but generally, yes.
Like, for example, the thigh muscle of a migratory bird may well be 'white' meat, because their legs don't operate for such extended periods of time as their breast muscles do while flying, and therefore will not have as much type I muscle as their wing muscles would.
Turkey, on the other hand, (and especially the supermarket bought ones) generally uses their wings for little more than flapping at the dude who's about to gut and feather them, so there is VERY little type I meat in the wings, while they do stand on their legs for long periods of time, which will give them a higher dark meat content in their legs versus their breasts. (Not to mention the specific genetic breeding to enhance the meat production to the farm's desired specifications)
So you can get overall trends in animals though, by looking at what they do.... migratory duck is going to have a fattier meat than cooped-up chicken, and hibernating Yogi Bear is going to have fattier meat than an African Cheetah.
Now, with regard to what is classified as "white" or "red" meat, that's more of a social custom to refer to certain animals in each way, as far as I know. Humans, as with most muscled animals, have some of each muscle type, but generally don't have any body parts that would be as polarized as, say, the wing tissue of a migratory bird, so all of their tissue, even the stuff that has relatively large amounts of type II muscle, is going to look red/dark to the butcher, or whomever is assiging the white/red meat connotation.
As I'm explaining it from my recollection of notes and lectures and things, it may sound a bit disjointed...
Check this out...they're pretty concise and, as far as I can tell, accurate.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/meat/INT-what-meat-color.html
