Why Organ Meats Disappeared from Western Diets (And Why They’re Coming Back)

Ask your grandparents, and chances are they remember liver and onions as a regular meal. Cod liver oil was a childhood staple. Families often used every part of the animal—liver, heart, kidney, tongue, and marrow.

Fast forward a few decades, and organ meats all but vanished from the Western diet. Instead, grocery stores filled up with boneless chicken breast, lean ground beef, and fortified cereals.

So what happened? And why are organ meats making a comeback now? Let’s dig into the story.

The Post-War Shift: Convenience Over Nutrition

After World War II, Western culture began shifting toward convenience and industrial food production. Two big things happened:

1. The rise of factory farming and supermarkets
• Pre-cut muscle meats became more available, while organs were seen as “less desirable.”
• Marketing pushed steaks, chops, and ground beef as the “prime cuts.”
2. The decline of traditional cooking
• Families cooked less at home and lost the know-how for preparing organs.
• Organs were labeled “poor man’s food,” and cultural preferences shifted toward processed foods.

By the 1970s, organ meats had almost disappeared from everyday meals.

The Cost of Forgetting Organs

Without organ meats, the modern diet lost its most nutrient-dense foods. That’s one reason deficiencies in vitamin A, B12, iron, and folate became so widespread.

Instead of getting nutrition from whole foods, people turned to:

• Fortified cereals and breads.
• Synthetic multivitamins.
• Highly processed foods marketed as “healthy.”

The result? More calories, fewer micronutrients, and a slow decline in overall vitality.

Why Organ Meats Are Making a Comeback

Fast forward to today, and things are changing:

• Ancestral health and paleo movements reminded people of nose-to-tail nutrition.
• The carnivore diet put organs back in the spotlight for filling nutrient gaps.
• Science-backed nutrition continues to show liver, heart, and kidney as superfoods unmatched by any synthetic vitamin.
• Organ supplements made it easy for modern people to enjoy the benefits without the strong flavors or tricky cooking methods.

In short, people are rediscovering what our ancestors always knew: organs are the foundation of true nourishment.

The Modern Solution: Supplements

While some adventurous eaters are cooking organs again, many prefer the simple, consistent route: organ supplements.

• Capsules – taste-free, daily convenience.
• Powders – easy to mix into smoothies, sauces, or even pet food.
• Blends – multiple organs in one supplement, replicating true nose-to-tail eating.

They combine the wisdom of traditional diets with the practicality of modern life.

Key Takeaways

• Organ meats disappeared after WWII as convenience and processed foods took over.
• Their absence left modern diets short on vitamin A, B12, iron, folate, and other essentials.
• A new wave of interest in ancestral health is bringing organs back—this time with better science and smarter tools.
• Organ supplements make it easy to reclaim these benefits every day, without needing to cook liver and onions.

Bottom line: Organ meats never stopped being the most nutrient-dense foods on earth—we just stopped eating them. Now, thanks to ancestral health movements and organ supplements, they’re making a well-deserved comeback.