Education. It’s something we instill in our children as being important for a successful future and a goal we continuously strive to accomplish ourselves. But it appears there is a group within animal agriculture that is uneducated about the importance of the rendering industry and its beneficial products – students and scholars of animal science and veterinary schools in North America.
Some facts recently presented show only 16 percent of veterinary students were raised on farms or in towns of less than 1,000 people, only 1.6 percent of U.S. residents live on farms, and only two percent of the labor force work on farms. Veterinary students are primarily non-rural (84 percent), female (76 percent), and have tendencies to possess “don’t feed ground up animals to animals” attitudes, carrying those attitudes into practice.
University professors with experience and knowledge about rendering and animal proteins and fats are retiring. In many cases, retiring faculty are not replaced or are replaced with a new generation that is uneducated about rendered products. There is also limited curriculum time devoted to animal by-product ingredients.
Students are the future and it is evident that animal science and veterinary students need to be educated about rendering and the valuable nutritional benefits of animal proteins and fats. One way the industry is tackling the issue is with an ad hoc Communications Committee formed within the National Renderers Association, Fats and Proteins Research Foundation, and the Animal Protein Producers Industry. The goal is to educate these students and society about the rendering industry and promote the integrity and safety of rendered products.
So get involved. The industry’s future depends on it.
October 2003 Render