In March, the health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr claimed that beef tallow, an animal fat, is healthier than its plant-based alternative, seed oils. Kennedy said the US wants food companies to “switch traditional ingredients for beef tallow”. Some, like Steak ’n Shake and Sweetgreen, have already done so.
Beef tallow, also known as “beef dripping”, is made by removing, simmering, then cooling the fatty tissue that surrounds cows’ organs. American fast-food restaurants used it to deep fry foods like potatoes until the 1990s, when they switched to seed oils. Today, it can be found in soaps, candles and skin care.
