Beef: It's not just for Dinner!

Most people know that cattle provide us with a healthy food -- beef. But few people know what other important products cattle supply.

Beef by-products enable us to use 99 percent of every beef animal, according to the National Cattle Women's Association. The primary raw commodities by volume are hides, fat and bone, blood and meat meal.

The use of beef by-products as animal feeds is the most significant single application (other than hides) on a volume basis. Since fats and proteins are the primary products of rendering, high energy and high protein animal feeds compose a large segment of the by-product market.

It's estimated that by-products contribute approximately 10 percent to the value of livestock. That means, 10 percent of the money a rancher receives when selling cattle is based on the value of edible and inedible by-products.

In a 1996 survey by Colorado State University, the nation's eight largest packers and 106 rendering plants were interviewed regarding the uses of beef by-products. The following table summaries the uses for various items.

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Packer and Renderer Response to Survey

Item	Describe uses of various by-products by consumer
Cattle hides	upholstery, leather, shoes, clothing, gelatin, sausage casings, pharmaceutical capsules
Switches	animal feed, meat and bone meal, minimal use for paint brushes
Hooves, horns	animal feed, meat and bone meal, animal chews, soaps
Ears	animal, meat and bone meal
Blood	fertilizer, edible sausages, pharmaceutical, animal feed
Fetal blood	animal feed, medical research, pharmaceuticals, fetal serum
Fetal hides	animal feed, leather, meat and bone meal, fine parchment
Bone	animal feed, fertilizer, gelatin, piano keys, soaps, fatty acids, soup bones
Tendons	Japan (edible), Asia (edible), animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids
Spinal cord	Mexico (edible), Japan (edible), Asia (edible), soup stock, animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids
Xiphoid cartilage	Japan (edible), animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids
Fat
Edible	shortening, animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids, margarine, cooking, oleo chemicals, food products
Technical	animal feed, fatty acids, tallow, Mexico (export), soaps, high-quality hand soap, lubricants
Inedible	soap, animal feed, export, fatty acids, industrial soaps, amines, pet feed, cosmetics (lipstick base, glycerin), waxes and polishes, polymers for synthetic lubricants, oleo chemicals, coatings for steel to prevent rust, lubricant for steel rolling mills, paints, plastics, rubber
Glands
Adrenal	pharmaceutical, animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids
Pancreas	pharmaceutial, insulin, animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids
Thyroid	pharmaceutical, animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids, sweetbreads
Parathyroid	pharmaceutical, animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids
Ovaries	pharmaceutical, animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids, hormone extraction research
Pineal	pharmaceutical, animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids
Testicle	animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids, Rocky Mountain Oysters
Organs
Livers	pet food, edible (domestic), edible (Egypt), animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids
Lungs	pharmaceutical (heparin), pet food, animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids
Kidneys	pet food, edible (Egypt), animal feeds, soaps, fatty acids