The North American Renderers Association (NARA) is announcing that the first National Rendering Day will be observed on April 21, 2023. NARA and National Day Calendar have issued the attached proclamation recognizing rendering with this national day, to be celebrated every 21st of April.
The date of April 21st was specifically chosen to fall on the day before Earth Day (April 22) in order to represent the sustainable nature of the rendering industry and its contributions to food waste reduction and environmental protection.
“Rendering companies and their employees are longstanding members of their communities, improving the quality of life by volunteering and supporting local charities, providing jobs, and offering essential recycling services for farmers, restaurants and food service,” NARA President and CEO Kent Swisher said. “Rendering upcycles by-products that would otherwise be wasted and is the purest example of the circular economy. The observance of National Rendering Day is a great way to educate the public on the efforts and strides of renderers and the positive environmental impacts of rendering.”
About rendering
North Americans consider roughly 50% of an animal to be inedible. This leaves a lot of leftover material that ends up as food waste. Rendering reclaims this otherwise wasted material, such as protein, bone, and fat and even includes used cooking oil (UCO) from restaurants. The rendering process safely, hygienically and sustainably processes that unused material (unconsumed meat) into new products and goods so nothing is wasted. In addition, renderers convert what would have been food waste into material for use in a multitude of new products such as nutritious pet food and animal feed, industrial goods, and biomass-based diesel. In short, rendering is recycling.
Rendering also demonstrates respect and resourcefulness for the livestock that were raised with care by farmers. In fact, rendering shows respect for the animal itself by using every part of the animal so nothing goes to waste. Additionally, offsetting the environmental impacts of animal agriculture through rendering shrink a food production footprint.
#NationalRenderingDay
Celebrating National Rendering Day on April 21st brings awareness to the act of reducing and eliminating food waste through rendering. On National Rendering Day, NARA urges the larger community to learn more about what rendering means, how the rendering process works and why using rendered products is the sustainable choice for consumers.
National Rendering Day is also a way to show appreciation for those in the rendering industry and to recognize and celebrate rendering’s many environmental benefits and its important role in reducing food waste and overall sustainability.
Learn more about rendering at www.NARA.org and join NARA in spreading the word about this day by sharing National Rendering Day on social networks and using the hashtag #NationalRenderingDay.
Source: North American Renderers Association
