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In today’s health and wellness landscape, irony abounds: the very ingredients we once moved away from in the name of public health are now being resurrected under the banners of “ancestral wisdom” and “natural living.” One of the most recent examples? Beef tallow—an animal fat once demonized for its saturated fat content—is now enjoying a renaissance in cooking, skincare, and even biohacking.

This isn’t just about cooking with oil. It’s part of a broader philosophical divide. As institutional trust declines, many are turning to tradition and nature for guidance—assuming, sometimes wrongly, that these values offer more than modern science.

This mindset underlies trends ranging from the carnivore diet to raw milk to—you guessed it—deep-frying your potatoes in rendered cow fat.

So how did we get here? And are we forgetting why we left tallow behind in the first place?

What Is Beef Tallow, Really?

Beef tallow is rendered fat from cows, usually taken from suet (the hard fat around the kidneys and loins). Once rendered, it becomes a solid white fat at room temperature with a high smoke point (~400°F) and long shelf life.

Nutritionally, tallow is roughly:

• 50% saturated fat
• 42% monounsaturated fat
• 4% polyunsaturated fat

That saturated fat content is what continues to concern medical experts—and why tallow never really left the “limit or restrict” category of most dietary guidelines. This type of fat is not limited to beef; you can buy cage-free duck fat, goose fat, bison fat, pork lard, and even pasture-raised leaf lard.  Given the health concerns surrounding saturated fats, it’s surprising to see this beef tallow trend gaining popularity.

From Kitchen Staple to Health Scapegoat

For much of the 20th century, beef tallow was a kitchen essential. It was added to many household staples, from pie crusts and French fries to candles and soaps.

Up until 1990, McDonald’s famously used it to fry their iconic golden fries—one of the secrets behind their distinctive flavor.

But beginning in the 1960s, public health campaigns began to target saturated fats. Emerging research linked them to elevated cholesterol and a growing epidemic of heart disease.

By 1990, under pressure from health advocates like Phil Sokolof, McDonald’s and other major food companies swapped tallow for 100% vegetable oil.

Though trans fats have since been banned, everywhere, the transition left a legacy of confusion and controversy about fats in general. Tallow disappeared from the mainstream—but questions about what should replace it have lingered ever since.

What Replaced Tallow…and is it Any Better?

After tallow fell out of favor, vegetable oils like canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, and corn oil became the default fats for cooking. Marketed as cholesterol-free and high in polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), they were touted as heart-healthy alternatives to animal fats.

But their rise has not been without criticism. A growing anti-seed-oil movement argues that these oils are ultra-processed, unstable at high heat, and potentially inflammatory. These claims have spread rapidly on social media, but what does the science actually show?

• Replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats has consistently been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease in randomized controlled trials.
• Oils like olive, canola, and soybean are considered safe and beneficial by major health organizations when used in moderation and not overheated.
• Concerns around processing and inflammation remain under investigation, but widespread claims of seed oil toxicity are not supported by clinical research.

They remain a safer alternative to highly saturated animal fats like tallow in most dietary contexts.

At Dirt to Dinner, we recognize that the conversation around seed oils is far from settled—and often distorted by ideology or social media. That’s why we dove deeper into the production, processing, and health implications of seed oils in our recent article. Our goal: to provide clear, science-backed information that helps you make informed choices in the kitchen and beyond.

Trend or Truth?

Despite its fall from favor due to cardiovascular concerns, beef tallow is making a cultural comeback driven in part by wellness influencers that touting its “ancestral” appeal, skincare brands highlighting its “biocompatibility,” and chefs praising its flavor and high smoke point.

Social media has played a major role in reviving its popularity, often presenting it as a cleaner, more “natural” alternative to seed oils.

This trend is part nostalgia, part rebellion. As more consumers question industrial agriculture and hyper-processed ingredients, old-school fats like tallow feel refreshingly simple and back-to-basics.

But simplicity doesn’t always equal safety.

Have We Stopped Listening to Science?

Despite claims that saturated fat has been wrongly vilified, the broader scientific consensus still points in one direction.

A 2020 meta-analysis in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reaffirmed that replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat significantly lowers heart disease risk. A 2021 review in Circulation called the evidence “strong and consistent.” And a 2023 study in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe found that high saturated fat intake—like that from tallow—was associated with increased rates of ischemic heart disease and all-cause mortality, even when accounting for lifestyle differences.

Some tallow proponents cite smaller or conflicting studies, including a 2014 review in Annals of Internal Medicine that questioned saturated fat’s role in heart disease. But this paper has been widely criticized for methodological flaws, and major health bodies have not shifted their recommendations: saturated fat intake should remain below 10% of total calories, or less than four teaspoons if you’re on a 2,000 daily calorie diet.

Meanwhile, claims that beef tallow supports hormone health, clears skin, or improves mood remain anecdotal and unsupported by rigorous clinical research. As always, personal testimonials are not scientific evidence—no matter how viral they go.

Why We’re Falling for it Again

What’s changed isn’t the science, but our willingness to listen to it. Today, health decisions are often driven by identity, ideology, and social media algorithms rather than evidence.

As we’ve explored in previous articles at Dirt to Dinner, this is part of a larger pattern: the replacement of research with narrative, and of science with sentiment. It’s not unique to beef tallow—it’s also happening with raw milk despite CDC recommendations, especially in light of Avian flu’s rapid spread.

The Raw Milk Parallel

Raw milk, like tallow, has been rebranded as a wholesome, traditional staple. Advocates claim it offers enzymes, beneficial bacteria, and nutrients lost in pasteurization.  These benefits can easily be found elsewhere in one’s diet.

The nostalgia might come from some of us who have drank milk immediately from the cow.  That is better because the bacteria hasn’t had a chance to proliferate.

But public health experts remain clear: raw milk carries a significant risk of contamination, including E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella. And in 2024 and 2025, there’s a new concern—H5N1 bird flu, which has been detected in U.S. dairy herds. The FDA and CDC have strongly warned against consuming raw milk amid the outbreak.

Still, sales are up—driven by the same “natural is better” ethos fueling beef tallow’s rise.

Nostalgia is Not Nutrition

The return of beef tallow—and raw milk—isn’t just a health trend. It reflects a broader cultural yearning for simplicity, self-sufficiency, and “lost wisdom.” But tradition isn’t inherently trustworthy. Many past practices were abandoned not out of ignorance, but because we learned better through rigorous study, hard data, and public health progress.

There’s nothing wrong with questioning the modern food system. But before embracing the old ways, we should ask: were they better—or just familiar?