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“ We ’ re kind of joined at the hip because most all of our raw material supplies depend on the growth and health of the livestock industry ,” said Dr . David Meeker , NARA ’ s senior vice president of scientific services . “ Because so much of animal feed and pet food ingredients are made from these by-products , rendering helps make those industries more sustainable because they don ’ t have to use human food or virgin ingredients to produce their products .”
Meeker also pointed to an obvious benefit that livestock producers think of when envisioning what renderers do .
“ It ’ s probably a little bit smaller impact because death loss on farms is a small percentage , but all the major livestock areas have rendering services that pick up fallen animals , animals that break a leg or don ’ t make it to market ,” he explained . “ Those carcasses are then processed into proteins and fats for fuel and all kinds of other products . It contributes to the sustainability of those production units by preventing those losses from being wasted .”
Collecting dead stock is also a critical control point from an environmental standpoint for a few reasons :
• Diverting dead livestock to a rendering facility instead of burial or composting reduces the possibility of disease spread through rodents and other wildlife . Decomposition can provide a
NARA data shows that rendering animal tissues is the greenhouse gas reduction equivalent to removing 18.5 million cars off the road each year .
breeding ground for harmful pathogens like Salmonella and E . coli .
• The strictly regulated rendering process uses high temperatures to kill off any pathogens , making the by-products safe and reusable .
• Natural decomposition involves emissions of carbon dioxide , methane and other greenhouse gases ( GHG ). NARA data shows that rendering animal tissues is the GHG reduction equivalent to removing 18.5 million cars off the road each year .
Water Recovery
The rendering process also helps capture and reuse water that might otherwise have been wasted . According to the Darling green paper , meat byproducts are composed of 60 percent water . After the raw material is cooked and any pathogens are killed , that water is extracted before the renderer separates out the fat and proteins . The water is then used to help clean the plant or returned to the municipal water supply for further treatment .
All in all , United States renderers evaporate four billion gallons of water annually . The capture and reuse of that water should count toward the sustainability of livestock and poultry .
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Much Appreciated
2021 HEARTLAND LIMOUSIN ASSOCIATION BOARD Front row , from left : Jason Boyer , Secretary ; Randy Corns , President ; Emmett Edwards , Vice President ; and T . J . Callahan , Treasurer Back row , from left : Jim Venner , Ex Officio , Casey Fanta , Matt Duff , Rob Brawner , Matt Bruner , William Long , and Dean Summerbell , Executive Secretary
46 • JULY 2021
Thank you one and all for your tremendous support at our recent benefit auction . The generosity of the many contributors , bidders and buyers ensures we will be able to continue to promote the Limousin breed and it ’ s breeders .
A special thanks to Linhart Limousin for allowing us the use of their facility . To Roger and Ann Vorthmann for the brisket meal . To the L365 team for hosting the online bidding portion of our auction , and to the live auction team , Mark Smith , Tom Rooney and Wiley Fanta . It was truly a group effort and for that we are thankful .