Rendering ’ s Role in the Rest of the Story
Animal agriculture has a great sustainability story , yet that narrative is not complete without including how rendering extends , in multiple ways , livestock and poultry sustainability .
by Sharla Ishmael Clear Point Communications
Editor ’ s Note : This article first appeared in Render magazine . To learn more about the rendering industry and its interdependence with the livestock business , visit www . rendermagazine . com .
Readers of a certain vintage will remember Paul Harvey ’ s famous tag line he used to sign off each episode of his radio show : “ And now you know . . . the rest of the story .” That is exactly what the rendering industry does for the livestock and poultry business — it provides the rest of the sustainability story , which is the mantra for any business in today ’ s political and social climate .
Consumers increasingly value products made in a sustainable manner , and they want to know the story behind that production . Animal agriculture is providing that information in all kinds of ways , from checkoff-funded promotional materials targeted to consumers , to YouTube videos highlighting conservation efforts by farmers and ranchers , to prioritizing sustainability in industry organizations ’ longrange plans .
New collaborative entities have sprouted up to bring together a diverse range of stakeholders interested in the sustainability of animal agriculture , such as the U . S . Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Eggs or the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef . These groups include not only livestock producers , but also the World Wildlife Fund , McDonald ’ s , The Nature Conservancy , meatpackers , and citizen / society representatives .
Virtually every conference held for beef , pork or poultry in recent years had at least one session on sustainability . Livestock and poultry folks are working hard at getting their sustainability message out to the public .
Yet there is more to that story , which is where rendering plays a key part .
Half of the Story
It is easy to find infographics referring to the by-products from livestock with titles like , “ Everything but the Oink ,” or “ There ’ s a Cow in My Marshmallow ,” which list typical by-products most consumers probably do not realize come from livestock . These by-products are available because the rendering industry transforms the roughly half of each meat animal that is not edible into usable products . Darling Ingredients Inc . has put together an informative green paper that explains it well .
“ In the United States , the human demand for consumable meat proteins generates approximately 56 billion pounds of unconsumed meat by-products and used cooking oil ( UCO ); these materials are processed and converted into usable proteins , minerals , fats and oils by the rendering industry . Without
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