Ron weighs in on the effects of offal’s rise in popularity:
In regards to the mega meat processors, they’re going to be just fine as Grier mentions, since no one doubts the efficiency of the modern abattoir. But Sysco isn’t providing offal to Olive Garden, nor are the corporate restaurants leading the charge. The usage of offal (and the hipness that may result) is being driven by artisanal kitchens working with artisanal farmers and ranchers. These farms and ranches don’t possess the same economies of scale or distribution channels, and would much rather sell a whole hog to a restaurant or chef.
This, then, returns the usage of offal to that magic word: necessity. Faced with a whole animal, a restaurant kitchen works to maximize every scrap. And so, the rise in popularity of offal has a higher effect on artisanal producers and the people that work with those producers.
Read the whole thing, complete with pictures that might entice even unadventurous readers to try some odd animal parts. This blog’s previous post on the topic here.
(Beeronomics is a regular category at the Oregon Economics blog. Will ball-o-nomics catch on here? Let’s hope not!)