ANIMAL RENDERING: A TOOL FOR ENHANCING THE FUNCTIONALITY OF VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE FOR A SUSTAINABLE DEEVELOPMENT Owoeye Ayodele Olusegun Abstract Animal rendering, a tool for enhancing of including instructions on practical animal Agricultural education for a sustainable future, rendering in voational agricultural programs. examines the focus of vocational agricultural education, which is to equip its recipients with Vocational agriculture is defined as the functional skills that can enhance student’s teaching of agriculture, natural resources and ability to be self employed gainfully. The land management through hands-on experience ability of the Educational system to keep and guidance to prepare students for entry level upgrading available opportunities for students jobs, to further their education and to prepare to acquire relevant skills, will ultimately determine the effectiveness of vocational them for advance agricultural jobs (Phipps programs. Rendering, the process of Osborne, Dyer Ball, Lloyd Edwards, James converting waste animal tissues into stable Anna. 2008). It is the training for a specific value added commercial materials which are vocation in industry of agriculture or trade. The organic in origin which includes high protein emphasis of vocational agriculture is to train ingredients for poultry feeds, pet food, and people in such areas as production marketing and fertilizer, yellow grease for biodiesel conservation (Phipps et-al, 2008).There is production used to power vehicles, tallow a therefore an urgent need to continually upgrade valuable ingredient in the production of soap, the skills in offer in vocational and technical paint, toothpaste, mouth wash, dyes, nail education to be more functional and meaningful polish, crayons, glue, shoe polish, antifreeze, ornaments, pharmaceutical products, and wax by adopting various teaching and learning paper. The trend the world over is strategies that can take advantage of factors of transformation of waste products into a source production that are readily and cheaply of income generation. Skill acquisition in accessible (Dike V.E, 2005). Vocational animal rendering would not only be a agriculture will effect the needed development, potentially promising income generating since it is designed to offer training to improve source, but also help in sustaining a healthier an individual’s proficiency (Ademola EA, environment, given the massive problems of Olakunle O.B, Badmus A.S 2012). Continual waste both in the agricultural sector and in the updating and upgrading of occupational skills nation at large. The paper therefore examines that can be taught in vocational agriculture is what animal rendering is, the raw material for rendering, what rendering yields, types of therefore of great importance (Knoblock N, Ball rendering, uses to which rendered materials A, Allen C. 2007). are put, disadvantage of using rendered materials in cattle feeding. Recommendations Recycling can be an economic as well as were made to help in establishing an animal an environmentally friendly process, which can rendering industry around which the various offer direct development opportunities for a sectors can operate among which is that The country’s economy which may include local government should look into the possibilities revenue, agricultural job creation, business expansion, and local economic base. Journal of Qualitative Education, Volume 10 No. 1 May, 2014, ISSN: 0331 - 4790 1 Owoeye Ayodele Olusegun In make vocational agriculture to be Why Rendering? more functional than what it presently is, there is 1. Rendering is recycling in the best sense of a need to explore and exploit the vast potentials the word as everything is used. inherent in transforming the massive and 2. Finished products of rendering are organic. mounting problems of agricultural waste 3. The industry provides long term employment materials into profitable products. Animal and it sustains the environment. rendering operations offer great opportunities in 4. Rendering reduces the raw material volume this direction, and if incorporated into by approximately 50%. agricultural vocational programs can further 5. Rendering in part is part of the human food enhance effectiveness of the program. Animal chain. rendering may be a dormant unexplored area of 6. Rendering is also a part of animal feed chain. massive income generation in agriculture, as the 7. Rendering is proven and safe disposal of focus the world over is on conversion of waste waste. into avenues of wealth generation. 8. Rendering decrease waste and converts waste (valueless) into economic valuables. What Is Rendering? 9. Rendering help reduce the rate of clandestine Rendering is a process that converts killing of sick animals sold into the market waste animal tissues into stable value added without going through meat inspection materials, by processing of animal products into procedures (NRA, 2013). more useful materials (Meeker, 2006). Rendering can be carried out on an industrial, Products of Rendering farm or kitchen scale. Whole animal fatty tissues are processed into purified fat such as lard and tallow. Remains Raw Materials for Rendering of animals abandoned and their viscera, blood, According to NRA, (2013), waste skin, bones, hooves are processed into fertilizers, animal tissues processed comes from slaughter leather, glue, and oil/grease for industrial purpose houses, butcher shop trimmings, expired meat (Energy solution Centre, 2007). from meat shops, carcasses of euthanized Products of rendering would include: animals and dead animals from animal shelters, 1. Biogas production- This is a non toxic zoos, veterinarians, and on transit. They also biodegradable diesel fuel produced from include restaurant waste grease. Specific yellow grease, used in vehicles. materials used include fatty tissues, bones, offal, 2. Yellow grease is produced from the recycling feathers, blood, brains, eyeballs, entire carcasses of used cooking oil. of animals condemned at slaughter houses and 3. Protein meal- meat / bone meal used as those that have died on farms, in transit etc. protein in Livestock feeding. Types of animals rendered may include beef, 4. Tallow – Fat produced from the rendering of sheep, pork and poultry (Mohammed, 2003). animal by-products which find use in the Integrated rendering plants normally process manufacture of paints, soap, pharmaceuticals only one type of raw material, whereas and cosmetics. independent rendering plants often handle 5. Rendering yields a fat commodity (yellow several raw materials that require either multiple grease, choice white grease, bleachable fancy rendering systems or significant modification in tallow). the operating conditions for a single system. 6. Production of lard or edible tallow for use in food products. Journal of Qualitative Education, Volume 10 No. 1 May, 2014, ISSN: 0331 - 4790 2 Animal Rendering: A Tool for Enhancing the Functionality of Vocational Agriculture for a Sustainable Deevelopment Methods of Rendering Rendering Process for Inedible Products The methods used in the rendering process Materials that are not suitable for human varies in many ways depending on the following: consumption because of sanitary reasons are the 1. Whether the end products are to be used for feedstock for inedible rendering processes. Much human consumption, which is based on the of the inedible materials are rendered using dry type of raw materials and processing method method. This may be a dry or a continuous used. processing in which the material is heated in a steam- jacketed vessel to drive off the moisture 2. Whether the end products are to be used as and simultaneously release the fat from the fat animal or pet food. cells. The material is first ground, and then heated to release the fat and drive off the 3. If the materials are to be processed wet or moisture, percolated to drain off the free fat, and dry. In wet processing either boiling water or then, more fat is pressed out of the residue, which steam is added to the material causing fat to at this stage is called cracklings or dry rendered rise to the surface. Wet rendering is one of tankage. The cracklings are further ground to the processes that produce the purest form of make meat and bone meal (Shah, 2011). tallow, while in dry processing, fat is released by dehydrating the raw material Kitchen Rendering (Becker, 2004). Rendering of fats is also carried out on a kitchen scale, where butter is transformed into 4. The temperature range used, whether high or clarified butter, and suet into tallow, chicken fat low. into schmaltz and pork into lard. 5. The processing plant may be operated by an Clarified fat is produced by melting independent company that collects the butter and allowing the different component to materials on the open market, or by the separate by density. The water evaporates, some packing plants that produce the material. solids float to the surface and is skimmed off and the remainder of the milk solids sinks to the Rendering Process for Edible Products bottom and is left behind when the butter fat Rendering for the production of edible (which will then be on top) is poured off. products are basically meat processing (Energy Solutions Centre, 2007). It has a longer operations which leads to the production of lard shelf life and higher smoke point than regular or edible tallow used in food products. Edible butter. rendering is generally carried out in a continuous process at low temperatures. The process Meat Rendering Plants