Steak ‘n Shake announced that they will switch completely from cooking in vegetable oil to “100% all-natural beef tallow” by the end of February.
This announcement came after Steak ‘n Shake posted a poll to their X account Monday. Over 90% of the respondents expressed their desire for the chain to switch to a healthier cooking option. (RELATED: GEORGE HARIZANOV: From Fat To Fit — Conservatives Must Lead The Fight For America’s Health)
“Our fries will now be cooked in an authentic way, 100% beef tallow, in order to achieve the highest quality and best taste,” Chris Ward, the Indianapolis-based company’s chief supply chain officer, said Thursday in a statement.
By the end of February 2025, all locations will use 100% all-natural beef tallow.
If veg oil broke your heart, our tallow will make you fall in love again 🍟❤️
— Steak ‘n Shake (@SteaknShake) January 17, 2025
McDonald’s used to employ beef tallow to cook their fries but switched over to vegetable oil in 1990, according to Restaurant Business. This came at a time of health concerns over the consumption of saturated fats in animal products such as beef tallow. McDonald’s made the switch due to concerns over losing customers.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 presidential campaign and his subsequent endorsement of Trump and nomination by the President-elect for the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services has put a spotlight on the food Americans eat. This coincided with the “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, movement. This has led to people moving away from vegetable cooking oils that come from seeds, such as soybean, canola, sunflower and corn, according to Restaurant Business.
“Seed oils are one of the most unhealthy ingredients that we have in foods,” RFK Jr. said during a 2024 Fox News interview. “And the reason they’re in the foods is because they are heavily subsidized. They are very cheap, but they are associated with all kinds of very serious illnesses, including body-wide inflammation, which affects all of our health.”
Seed oils are one of the most unhealthy ingredients that we have in foods. We need to Make Frying Oil Tallow Again. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/OOqGffhFUy
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) October 25, 2024
The nominee also argued that “seed oils are one of the driving causes of the obesity epidemic.”
Fast Food is a part of American culture. But that doesn’t mean it has to be unhealthy, and that we can’t make better choices. Did you know that McDonald’s used to use beef tallow to make their fries from 1940 until phasing it out in favor of seed oils in 1990? This switch was… pic.twitter.com/ygijMtsSQt
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) October 21, 2024
“Interestingly enough, this began to drastically rise around the same time fast food restaurants switched from beef tallow to seed oils in their fryers,” RFK Jr. claimed.
About 60% of Americans’ diet relies on processed foods, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found. Soybean oil has been linked to a number of health issues, including having an unhealthy gut, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside).
“Our work challenges the decades-old thinking that many chronic diseases stem from the consumption of excess saturated fats from animal products, and that, conversely, unsaturated fats from plants are necessarily more helpful,” UC Riverside Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology and co-author Sonia Poonamjot Deol said. (RELATED: Trump’s Picks Were Once Victims Of Deep State Abuse. It’s Why They’re Perfect For The Job)
However, there are those who criticize eliminating seed oils from the diet. The American Heart Association has suggested that “no more than 5% to 6% of your daily calories comes from saturated fats,” according to Mayo Clinic. The clinic said unsaturated fats — including seed oil — are healthier for the majority of people. Seed oils can help guard against type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to Mayo Clinic.
Such fats “play an important role in your body,” according to Colorado State University’s Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center. They offer energy, protect people’s organs, aid nutrient absorption, help regulate body temperature and support the immune system, the center’s staff wrote.
Biglari Holdings, Steak ‘n Shake’s parent company, did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller.