Cheap, healthy food is rejected by most Americans even as MAHA movement pushes it

One of the most nutrient-dense foods people can eat is also one of the cheapest, yet most Americans turn up their noses at it.

Organ meats — including kidneys, liver and heart — are also known as offal. They're packed with protein while often containing more vitamins and minerals than premium muscle cuts, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

A 3-ounce serving of beef liver, sometimes called "nature's multivitamin," contains an average of 70.7 micrograms of vitamin B12, according to the National Institutes of Health. The same amount of top sirloin steak, meanwhile, typically contains 2.41 micrograms of B12, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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Then there's the bang-for-the-buck factor with organ meats. They can cost between 50% and 90% less than filet mignon, ribeye, New York strip and other popular cuts, according to some estimates.

USDA Choice beef liver, for instance, is selling for $3.39 per pound on Instacart, while USDA Choice beef loin top sirloin is going for $14.29 per pound.

"Organ meats, or offal cuts, depending on the type — such as liver — contain higher concentrations of vitamin A, B vitamins, copper, folate and iron compared to more widely consumed cuts of meat," Washington, D.C.-based registered dietitian Roxana Ehsani told Fox News Digital.

"They may also be higher in cholesterol and saturated fat than more widely consumed cuts of meat."

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Organ meats were a staple of American meals in the years leading up to World War II. During the war, citizens were encouraged to eat offal and save muscle cuts for soldiers, according to many sources. 

Offal is common in other countries, with signature dishes such as tripe, haggis, foie gras and pâté using so-called "variety cuts" as the primary ingredient.

As demand for organ meats plummeted domestically, beef producers began exporting them to international customers.

Organ meats accounted for 22% of the total volume of U.S. beef exports and generated nearly $1.1 billion in revenue in 2024, according to a 2025 Michigan State University Extension report.

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Offal fell out of favor in America for several reasons, including its association with poverty and wartime rationing in the prosperous era that followed World War II, according to The Takeout.

The industrialization of large-scale meatpacking during this period is also cited as a reason for offal's disappearance.

People began losing touch with butchering an entire animal, as well as with preparation methods for organ meats.

Offal is also more labor-intensive to process than muscle meat, and new technologies at the time prioritized efficiency.

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Eating organ meats, sometimes referred to as "nose-to-tail" or "ancestral" eating, appears to be gaining popularity again. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has recommended liver as a "very, very affordable" option.

The Kennedy-led Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement also advocates for consuming nutrient-dense whole foods, protein and red meat.

Unaccustomed contemporary consumers can acquire a taste for the more intense flavors and unfamiliar textures of organ meats by adding them slowly — once a week — into meals, Ehsani suggested.

"You might try mixing half organ meat with half ground beef in a recipe you're typically used to eating — such as when making meat sauce for a pasta dish," Ehsani said.

And "you can add plenty of fresh or dried herbs and spices to flavor these cuts."