In February, several Minnesota renderers sponsored a seminar titled “The Rendering Industry’s Role in Contemporary America” for the University of Minnesota’s Department of Animal Science. Central Bi-Products, ConAgra-Swift, Darling International, Hormel Foods, The Mengelkoch Company, and Van Hoven Company shared expenses associated with bringing Dr. Ross Hamilton, Darling International, to Minnesota to present the seminar, which included information on: the size and scope of the rendering industry - raw materials and finished products; the interrelationship between rendering, animal production, and meat processing industries; the rendering industry’s commitment to biosecurity and food-safety; Salmonella and bovine spongiform encephalopathy; the nutritional value of rendered products in feed formulations - digestibility, variability, and palatability; and other options for by-product disposal and why rendering is the most bio-secure method.
Approximately 35 students and staff members from the Department of Animal Science attended the session. Several attendees enthusiastically commented about the valuable learning experience the seminar was for them. One individual asked what the rendering industry was doing to inform the general public about the valuable services it provides. The Minnesota renderers explained they were looking for and welcomed additional opportunities to address audiences, and encouraged all present, as members of animal agriculture, to speak out on behalf of the rendering industry as well.
April 2002 Render