Rendering Archives - North American Renderers Association

Ready to Join NARA?

Posted on July 30, 2026 (July 31, 2026) by nara-primediany

The North American Renderers Association (NARA), the trade association representing the U.S. and Canadian rendering industry, welcomes you to join your colleagues in the rendering industry. Who Joins NARA? NARA members are independent renderers and integrated packer/renderers who process their own animal by-products. Other members provide equipment and services to our rendering members, and broker or buy processed rendered products. International members are also welcome. Why Join NARA? NARA actively addresses the needs

This Month, Enjoy a Day by a River!

Posted on June 29, 2026 (July 2, 2026) by Anna

The sun glinting off its surface, the water lapping at its banks, the way it winds through a cityscape or the countryside. Wherever you live, there’s a river nearby to enjoy this June. That’s because it’s National Rivers Month, an annual celebration dedicated to appreciating, protecting, and restoring the thousands of rivers and streams across the United States. “But what does this have to do with rendering?” you might wonder. The answer is, “A lot!” Indeed, if

What Would a World Without Animal Rendering Be Like?

Posted on February 28, 2026 (March 6, 2026) by nara-primediany

If you are new to the topic of animal rendering, you may not realize how crucial it is for environmental sustainability worldwide – in addition to saving landfill space and accounting for $10 billion in annual economic activity across the country, including rural America. As a process to reclaim and reuse animal agriculture resources responsibly, reduce food waste, and find important uses for meat by-products, rendering is recycling at its most basic. In fact,

Why Truck and Rail Transportation Are Essential to the Rendering Industry

Posted on December 30, 2025 (December 30, 2025) by nara-primediany

Every year, the rendering industry plays a critical role in sustainability by giving new life to materials that would otherwise go to waste. Massive volumes of animal by-products are transported to rendering facilities, where they are converted into valuable fats and proteins. These materials are then recycled into everyday products, including pet food and other essential goods. Additionally, renderers also collect billions of pounds of used cooking oil (UCO) from restaurants and food manufacturers.

EPA Restores Rendering to the Wasted Food Scale — Highlighting a Proven Way to Prevent Food Waste

Posted on December 19, 2025 (February 5, 2026) by Anna

When most people think about food waste, they picture leftovers being thrown away. But preventing food waste isn’t just about reducing what ends up in the trash — it’s also about finding responsible, sustainable ways to use food scraps and materials that can’t be eaten. That’s where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Wasted Food Scale comes in. The scale (formerly called the Food Recovery Hierarchy) ranks food management strategies from most to least environmentally

Tina Caparella Honored with NARA’s 2025 Don Franco Award

Posted on November 18, 2025 (November 18, 2025) by Anna

NARA has named Tina Caparella the recipient of the 2025 Don Franco Distinguished Service Award, the organization’s highest honor recognizing outstanding leadership and long-term contributions to the rendering and meat industries. Read the press release here. Tina’s career in the industry spans decades, beginning with her family’s legacy at Render magazine. The magazine was founded in 1972 by her grandfather, Frank Burnham, as a newsletter for West Coast rendering organizations, eventually becoming a national publication

National Farmer’s Day

Posted on October 31, 2025 by Anna

Every October 12, National Farmer’s Day gives us a chance to pause and thank the people whose work sustains us every single day. From the ranchers who raise livestock to the processors who turn byproducts into valuable materials, agriculture’s backbone is built by those who see opportunity where others might see waste. And nowhere is that spirit clearer than in the rendering industry. Rendering is agriculture’s quiet sustainability hero. It’s the process of transforming the

From Community to Conservation: The Economic Impact of the Rendering Industry

Posted on October 28, 2025 by nara-primediany

Did you know that the rendering industry currently accounts for roughly $10 billion in annual economic activity across the United States? While we know that rendering helps to promote food waste sustainability, reclaim clean water, and reduce our carbon footprint worldwide, rendering also supports the North American economy in more ways than one. Rendering Creates Jobs The rendering industry proudly creates thousands of jobs throughout urban and rural North America each year. From

Celebrating the Next Generation of Agriculture Leaders: Meet the First NARA Rendering Scholarship Recipient

Posted on September 16, 2025 (September 17, 2025) by Anna

The North American Renderers Association (NARA) is thrilled to introduce the recipient of its very first Rendering Scholarship: Madelynn Pimm, a senior at Penn State University. Madelynn is majoring in Agribusiness Management and International Agriculture, and she’s already making her mark as a leader in the agricultural community. Her goal? To build stronger connections between producers and consumers while supporting the growth of agriculture for the future. Madelynn’s leadership goes beyond the classroom. She serves

Moo-ve Over for National Beef Month

Posted on May 28, 2025 (May 28, 2025) by Marcus Wintzer

You may or may not know that the month of May is recognized as national Beef month. Now that the rain has finally let up (at least in some parts of the country) what better time to get outdoors and grill up some all-beef hot dogs, burgers, or a delicious ribeye? That’s a rhetorical question, but I’m sure you already know the answer. Of course, if the weather doesn’t want to cooperate, you can always

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