When an animal is butchered, it’s often surprising how much weight is “lost” in the harvest process. For example, you may bring in a 1400 lb steer but only get about 500 lbs of meat in return.

I’ll use this pineapple to explain why this is (not as good as a steak, but oh well)

When a beef animal is harvested, the head, hide, blood, hooves and viscera (internal organs) are removed. Leaving behind muscle, bone and fat, or the “hot carcass”

Similarly, when a pineapple is cut up we remove the top, bottom and outer portion, leaving the edible fruit + core

Later, the carcass is fabricated, or cut into retail cuts. During this process, excess fat is trimmed and bones are removed (unless cutting bone-in steaks and roasts, then some bones remain)

Likewise, spots are removed from the pineapple and the core is taken out.

The product that is left is the yield, or the boneless, closely trimmed, retail cuts. Aka the edible product that can actually be purchased and consumed.

In this case, our yield is a bowl of pineapple. For a beef animal it would be in the form of steaks and roasts.

The portion “lost” in harvest and fabrication is still usable. Medical equipment, leather, sports equipment, art supplies, and pet food are just a few co-products from the harvest process. Nothing is truly lost. It’s pretty cool to think about all the industries it can impact.

And to wrap it up, here’s a pic of a porterhouse I found on the internet to refresh your palate after all the plant-based talk #SteakScience