NARA Blog
2020: Looking Back on the Positives
Despite the devastating and challenging COVD-19 events of 2020, we are looking ahead to a bright New Year. However, in 2020 some unexpected positives shone through in the rendering industry. NARA recognizes and celebrates the helpful, talented, and flexible creativity that helped achieve them. In spring 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic reached its first peak and the U.S. began shutting down, the rendering industry joined forces with other national agricultural organizations to advocate that rendering
Thankful for Rendering’s Sustainable Contributions (All Around Us)
For those who celebrate the holiday season this year, it’s bound to be different. Whether you enjoy Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and even the Winter Solstice, it’s traditionally a time to gather with family and friends. COVID-19 has transformed celebrations for many of us by affecting who we spend time with and what we can do. This year has been challenging for all of us in some way or another, to be sure. Perhaps you
Keeping Spooky Black Cats (and ALL cats) Healthy with Sustainable, Rendered Products
Renderers, and those who support the rendering industry are always thinking about how to be more sustainable and keep our pet’s diets nutritious. Since October is the season for spooky black cats, and also the month of National Cat Day, we thought it was a great time to talk about our feline friends and how rendering helps to keep their food sustainability and healthy! National Cat Day National Cat Day is observed every October 29th
The Importance of Rendering Education
From the perspective of NARA’s newest staff member, Communications Director Anna Wilkinson When I started work at NARA nearly two years ago, I was struck by the scant amount of information publicly available about rendering when I searched for it. Yes, our association had an informative website on rendering specifically, but a general, online search of “rendering” yielded every definition except the one that explains what we do. Top results were “architectural rendering”, “computer
Wag Woof Bow-Wow…Translation: Happy National Dog Day!
At NARA, the safety of your pets is of the utmost importance. The pet food industry is now the largest user of rendered fats and proteins. Renderers follow safety procedures to the letter to ensure that these rendered ingredients and end products are nutritious and safe for your pets (and livestock). Rendered protein meals such as meat and bone meal, poultry by-product meal, and fish meal are highly sustainable and almost universally used in pet
A Very "Green" Interview
After NARA’s recent donation of surgical masks to Greenspring Village assisted living community, (read about that here) they reached out to us curious to learn more about rendering. Watch the below interview with NARA President and CEO, Nancy Foster, and Communications Director, Anna Wilkinson, with Greenspring to learn more about what rendering and why it’s environmentally-friendly and so important to sustainability. NARA’s Greenspring Village Interview In short, rendering takes leftover animal
Happy Summersgiving (and Turkey Lovers Month)!
Isn’t it nice when things come together perfectly? We think so. Especially in the summer. So what could be more perfect than Summersgiving falling within National Turkey Lovers month in June? …What’s that? …You haven’t heard of either of those? Read on! Summersgiving is a national day observed on the Saturday after the Summer Solstice. It was started in 2009 by Robert Solomon because he loved Thanksgiving so much and wanted to do something similar
“Social Sustainability” = Supporting our Communities
When we think of the three pillars of sustainability – Environmental, Economic and Social – , the third can get less attention, when in fact each is equally important. Considering the current state of the world, it is even more important now. Though the definition of Social Sustainability has many iterations such as “The formal and informal processes; systems; structures; and relationships that actively support the capacity of current and future generations to create healthy
Why Rendering is so #Sustainable
When you think of Earth Day you probably think of #Sustainabilty, right? But do you think of rendering? In honor of April as Earth Month and the 50th anniversary of #EarthDay, we invite you to learn why rendering is one of the most sustainable practices to avoid food waste and recycle leftovers into fresh ingredients for new products. First, let’s begin with a definition. Render, from the French verb rendre, meaning “to give back.” And
Focusing on the Essentials
During these trying times as the nation faces the novel coronavirus and the illness it causes, many of us are making decisions about what’s essential in our lives. Most will likely find our essential priorities are similar: safety, shelter, access to health care, and sustenance like food, water, pet food, and basic supplies. When we take a step back and look at the big picture, we can see that certain industries and services are essential
