While growing up, we’ve always been warned against the dangers of eating excessive fat.
Why? Because it may lead to cardiovascular problems.
But is fat all that bad?
Well, the story today is sort of flipped.
Many online articles talk about the health benefits of animal fats like ghee, lard, or tallow.
So I ask myself…what changed?
Well, nothing has changed.
Our ancestors used these fats immeasurably and didn’t end up with a range of lifestyle diseases ravaging our society today.
Why?
Because they chose to maintain a simple lifestyle devoid of stress.
They were active and weren’t exposed to an information boom that increased stress levels and depression.
Now fast forward to our day and age.
Most of us consume ultra-processed seed oils, which are as different from animal fats as night and day.
Most of these seed oils have a low smoke point, meaning that that convert to toxic stuff at temperatures higher than 150°C.
Besides that, many seed oils are loaded with linoleic acid – a fatty acid associated with gut inflation.
And to top it all up, many of these seed oils are highly processed through techniques like solvent extraction and bleaching leaving them devoid of natural antioxidants.
Now, I’m in no way saying that seed oils have no hidden benefits.
Many of them have unsaturated fats which are generally good for brain development.
However, if we consider their bad sides against a backdrop of the age we’re living in, then you realize why there’s a sudden upsurge in gut related issues today.
That’s why there’s a flurry of information about the benefits of animal fats.
But animal fats aren’t only beneficial in the nutrition front.
They could also be further processed into high value commodities we use everyday.
Soap is one such product.
Let’s consider tallow from beef fat.
Instead of disposing this fat as waste or downcyclycling it into pet food, it could be used to make soap.
When beef tallow is mixed with some of coconut oil then reacted with caustic soda at recommended ratios, a very hard and foamy soap bar could result.
Beef tallow, being solid at room temperature produces some of the best soap that is less slimy and possibly has soothing effects on sensitive skins.
But besides soap, tallow could be mixed with some essential oils for fragrance to produce lotions and balms useful in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
Medicinal herbs like aloe vera, neem, tumeric could be infused into tallow to produce such balms.
Also fragrances like rosemary, lemon grass, lavender among others could also be mixed into tallow for lotions used in the cosmetic world.
And we’ve not yet delved into tallow’s potential in candle and crayon making.
Scented candles are a good source of indoor fragrances and could easily be made by infusing essential oils in tallow.
But let’s not stop at that.
Let’s take a stroll into the world of biodiesel.
BIODIESEL
Imagine the energy source of the future.
Energy not derived from fossils that have aged for eons but from rejects like animal fat…
Energy that’s replenishable within the human scale of time and is as abundant as the number of meat-lovrers around.
Well, the thing with beef fat is that it can be converted to biodiesel by first extracting tallow and then combining it with a cocktail of sodium hydroxide and ethanol at specific ratios.
The result is a fuel that could possibly power us into the future.
IN CONCLUSION
So what are we saying in this fatty story?
Well, first, fat ain’t that all bad.
But lastly, fat – especially beef fat – could be reingineered into other more valuable products instead of tossing it into the landfill.
That’s the goal of the circular economy model. Ain’t it?
