The Skinny on Vegetable Fats vs Beef Tallow

Popular food chain Steak ‘n Shake is stirring the MAHA pot by switching cooking oils from vegetable to animal, as in tallow. However, the transition away from trans-fats has nothing to do with transgenderism or the Trump transition – it has to do with “real science” and overwhelming customer preferences for healthier dining choices, even at “fast food” establishments. The implications for the food industry (and for Americans’ health) of the Steak ‘n Shake shake-up are enormous. Here’s why.

The Big Switch Begins

Steak ‘n Shake is no small player, boasting hundreds of locations, mostly in the Midwest. Some news outlets sought to tarnish the chain’s Fryolator conversion to tallow as politically motivated. Newsweek employed the headline “Steak 'n Shake Announces Major Change to Fries in RFK Jr.-Backed Move” in an article that was equivocal as to the relative health benefits of beef fat over vegetable oils and which likened the chain’s shift to “policy changes likely to curry favor with Trump since his election win, such as rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion (or DEI) programs.”

Steak ‘n Shake’s shake-up of the processed food establishment was clearly dictated by overwhelming consumer preference. The company posted a poll to its X account in which more than 90% of respondents approved the move as a healthier cooking option. Such a powerful expression by consumers reflects growing bipartisan concerns about ultra-processed and take-out foods, which is incidentally the MAHA message. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not lead the charge; he simply gave it a political voice.

The story of beef tallow is much more than a health journey; it is an indictment of a food industry that favors profits over people. Beef tallow is healthier than vegetable and seed oil alternatives. A primary consideration is the “smoke point” of cooking oils: The temperature at which they burn determines the point at which they become carcinogenic health risks (releasing harmful free radicals). Most take-out restaurants fry their offerings at temperatures between 350-450 degrees, which can exceed the smoke point for vegetable shortening (360), vegetable oil (400), refined canola oil (400), sesame oil (350), and others. Beef tallow’s 400-420 smoke point makes it ideal for high-temperature cooking. Avocado oil's is quite high at 570, but the oil is cost prohibitive and environmentally questionable – it is estimated a single avocado requires as much as 70 gallons of water to grow!

A Tall Tale of Tallow

But that is just the beginning of the tallow tale. Rendered from animal fats, tallow was widely used in US restaurant chains for decades, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Hardee’s, Arby’s, Dairy Queen, Bob’s Big Boy, and Popeyes. It is versatile, has a long shelf life, was long regarded as healthy, and is far more flavorful than vegetable replacements. Twentieth-century technologies developed hydrogenation processes to convert seed and other oils into stable tallow replacements. The advent of soybeans as a protein source yielded an abundance of oil by-products: Hydrogenation converted this waste product into a salable asset and – voila -- cheaper frying oils were born.

At first pushed as a better financial alternative for restaurants due to lower costs, a now-familiar corporate propaganda campaign based on dubious claims against saturated fats unfolded in the 1980s. Academics, physicians, regulators, and media began slandering tallow, and advocacy groups waged a campaign to shift frying oils to vegetable alternatives. Almost all targeted businesses converted, including McDonald’s, in 1990.

Now, the tide has reversed. The American obesity crisis exploded in tandem with the advent of these tallow replacements, proving the vegetable oil “science” was, in reality, a profit-driven tall tale. Studies increasingly show that beef tallow is more stable at high cooking temperatures and its saturated fats are beneficial.

Where’s the Beef Now?

Beef tallow contains as much as 40-50% heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. With high amounts of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) found only in animal ruminants, it has been shown to reduce obesity. Grass-fed cows contain higher levels of CLA and beneficial Omega-3 fats than grain-fed options. Tallow contains essential vitamins and aids in their absorption. It metabolizes slowly in the body, increasing energy levels. Tallow may help in hormone regulation, boost immune function, is anti-inflammatory, improves brain health, and may balance blood sugar and improve heart health. Beef tallow was thus making a healthy comeback well before corporate lackeys could use Kennedy to try to discredit it and is now touted as beneficial by the Mayo Clinic.

What do these marvelous health benefits (plus far superior French fry flavor!) imply for the much-maligned cows from which the best tallow is derived? Cows on grass sequester carbon and produce healthier meats, but they are not nearly as profitable for Big Food and Big Ag as their factory-processed, genetically modified, plant-based replacements. There is big money to be made in food, but bigger health risks in ultra-processed imposters.

Beef tallow is here to stay – consumers have spoken in accord with real food science that aligns with improved flavor and less processing. McDonald’s and Wendy’s can be expected to follow suit soon in a shift that marks the hopeful beginning of a long-overdue reversal away from faux food and toward less obesity, diabetes, and cancer.

Beef tallow and benevolent bovines have a leading role to play in Making America Healthy Again.