(NewsNation) — Beef tallow, the edible fat from cattle, is in demand from American restaurants and consumers as a replacement for seed oils and even as a skin moisturizer.
However, Americans searching for the trendy nutrient-dense fat might find it difficult to find as demand has increased but not supply.
Beauty influencers are raving online about how it moisturizes skin and adds flavor to foods, but some farmers and health advocates say seed oils are needlessly getting a bad rap and maintain they are healthy unsaturated fats that help maintain good cholesterol levels and heart health.
Beef tallow — a saturated fat — is made of melted down fatty tissue from cattle. Given all the publicity it’s getting, it’s important to remember the issue of supply and demand.
According to the USDA, soybeans are the largest US agricultural export to China, valued at over $12 billion last year. Additionally, the USDA said the United States produced roughly 1 billion pounds of edible beef.
Some agricultural experts are concerned there will not be enough beef tallow to accommodate consumers.
The influx in beef tallow popularity is partially due to food activists and Make America Healthy Again moms like influencer Vani Hari, also known by her social media handle “Food Babe,” who have argued against seed oils along with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Hari said that the consumers have to make the demand in order for the food industry to adjust to their requests.
“This happened to me when I asked Chick-fil-A to go antibiotic-free, they’re like, well, there’s just not enough antibiotic-free chicken,” Hari said, “No, if you demand your suppliers move this way, they will move.”
