NARA Blog
We Have a New Podcast: The Invisible Industry
NARA is excited to announce that we recently launched a new rendering podcast, The Invisible Industry: Everything You Didn’t Know (You Didn’t Know) About Rendering. Our panel style podcast airs quarterly episodes that discuss and educate on agricultural rendering, the rendering industry, and the sustainability benefits of rendering. Each episode features a new co-host from the rendering or related industry and unique guests who discuss a wide range of topics of interest to those in
2021 Bisplinghoff Research Innovation Award Winner
NARA’s sister research foundation, The Fats and Proteins Research Foundation (FPRF), is pleased to announce that the 2021 “Bisplinghoff Research Innovation Award” has been presented to Merlin D. Lindemann, Ph.D, PAS, for his many years of research on the use of rendered products in swine nutrition. Dr. Lindemann is a professor of Animal and Food Sciences at the University of Kentucky. His work has been instrumental in establishing the value of rendered products in pig
Meet NARA’s New Incoming President and CEO: Kent Swisher
On September 1st NARA announced that Kent Swisher has been named the incoming president & CEO of the North American Renderers Association (NARA). He will also serve as president of the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation (FPRF), the rendering industry’s research organization. Kent will assume leadership upon the retirement of NARA’s current president and CEO, Nancy Foster, on December 31, 2021. Kent has worked for the North American Renderers Association for over 18 years
3 Cheers for Doggos! Celebrating National Dog Day 2021
National Dog Day is observed every year on August 26th, and if you are a pet parent to a pooch, we know you appreciate your furry friend 365 days of the year! But we like to recognize National Dog Day to remind you that the pet food you feed your fur babies is safe, healthy, and sustainable thanks to rendering. Rendered protein meals, derived from the rendering process, are a vital ingredient in safe pet
From Fries to Fuel
July 13th is National French Fry day, and that makes us hungry…but it also makes us think of renewable fuels. Why you ask? Well, the used cooking oil (UCO) that these popular (and all too crave-able) morsels are fried in is actually vital to the renewable fuel and biomass-based diesel industries. Renderers pick up UCO from restaurants and much of it (along with rendered animal fat) is used to produce sustainable biomass-based diesel – namely
We Interviewed Dr. Kevin Finneran on his ACREC Funded Work
Director of Communications for NARA and FPRF (the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation), Anna Wilkinson, recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Kevin Finneran, a recipient of one of 6 projects selected for this year’s funding at the Animal Co-Products Research & Education Center (ACREC). ACREC is a joint project with Clemson University and FPRF with the mission to: Ensure microbial safety of rendered products for animal feeds and consumer protection Promote environmentally
Newly Published Peer Reviewed Article Spotlights Rendering’s Sustainability
We are excited to announce a newly published peer reviewed article, How Agricultural Rendering Supports Sustainability and Assists Livestock’s Ability to Contribute More Than Just Food, in the animal science journal, Animal Frontiers; Volume 11, issue 2. The journal article covers the sustainability of agricultural rendering by outlining its benefits for each of the three pillars of sustainability (Environmental, Social and Economic). Additionally, the article discusses the many ways that rendered products surround us every
Rendering (really) is Recycling
If you follow NARA on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) or have visited our website before, you may recognize the phrase “Rendering is Recycling”. In honor of Earth Month, we’re exploring what that means, and why spreading the word on the sustainability benefits of rendering is paving the way to a ‘greener’ future. Rendering probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of recycling (or even sustainability for that matter) because
National Puppy Day & NARA II Update
March 23rd was National Puppy Day, so we thought there was no better topic for our March blog than to update everyone on our CCI puppy, Nara II, and showcase the amazing work that NARA’s partner, Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), is doing. Canine Companions for Independence is a non-profit organization that pairs canine assistance animals with children, adults, and veterans in need. Learn more about the important work CCI is doing by providing service
NARA.org Website Tour
Are you interested in learning more about rendering and how it’s connected to sustainability, reduced food waste and biofuels? Are you in the rendering industry and looking for news and information about the industry, or want to learn more about the North American Renderers Association? Recently our website got a big makeover, and in today’s blog we want to give you a tour of NARA.org and go over some pages you may find
