April 21st is National Rendering Day – when we recognize the sustainability of agricultural rendering and those who work in the rendering industry.
The date of April 21st was specifically chosen to fall on the day before Earth Day (April 22nd) to represent the sustainable nature of the rendering industry, recognize the many useful items renderers can process from materials that would otherwise be wasted, and celebrate rendering’s impact on environmental protection.
What is rendering?
Did you know North Americans consider 50% of an animal to be inedible? Rendering reclaims that otherwise wasted material (the meat we don’t eat) by safely and sustainably processing it into a multitude of new products – from pet food to candles to biomass-based diesel fuel.
Family activities to learn about rendering
(Kids: Be sure to have adult supervision when trying any of these!)
- Cooking and collecting bacon grease
- Making soap from rendered animal fat (lard or tallow)
- Helping kids identify how different types of food waste can be sorted into renderable, compostable, or landfill categories and understand how the renderable materials can be reused
- Discussing “the lifecyle of a French fry” and how used oil from cooking fries can be turned into biofuel.
Help us spread the word about National Rendering Day, April 21st, on social media using hashtag #NationalRenderingDay and please tag NARA in your posts.
