British Beef Hits US Market

The ban on British beef stemmed from the 1980s and 1990s outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or "mad cow disease." The crisis led to the slaughter of over four million cattle in the U.K. and was linked to 178 human deaths from a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In response, the European Union banned British beef exports in 1996, with the U.S. maintaining its own restrictions for more than two decades. The U.S. lifted its ban in March 2020 after inspections confirmed that U.K. meat hygiene and safety controls met equivalent American standards. The first shipments arrived in September of that year, in a deal projected to be worth an estimated £66 million (about $85 million) to British producers over its first five years. This influx of imports coincides with a severe contraction in the American cattle industry. The U.S. cattle herd has shrunk to its lowest level in decades, a result of persistent drought driving up feed costs and forcing ranchers to sell off animals rather than breed them. Consequently, U.S. ground beef prices surged 72% between 2020 and the end of 2025. The renewed interest in beef tallow is part of a larger debate over dietary fats. Fast-food chains widely used tallow for frying until the 1990s, when they switched to vegetable-based seed oils amid concerns over saturated fat and heart health. Proponents now argue that seed oils are a key driver of modern obesity and inflammation. Health experts remain cautious, pointing out that beef tallow is high in saturated fat. The American Heart Association advises that replacing saturated fats like tallow with unsaturated oils can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Just one tablespoon of beef tallow contains nearly the full daily recommended limit for saturated fat in a 2,000-calorie diet.