As a society, a more common and simple cosmetic procedure today is liposuction. This the minor surgery is a pretty straightforward procedure and in 2017, about a quarter of a million people received liposuction. That’s quite a bit of fat out in the garbage.  Since America is experiencing an obesity epidemic (other countries are too) the fat they lose to liposuction would be inexpensive. The average amount of fat lost in a liposuction procedure is close to four and a half pounds. If you do the math, that just over a million pounds of fat that goes to waste each year. What if, instead of throwing it away we reclaim it?
There could be so many uses for the fat.  We already use animal fat for candles, soaps, and many food items, why not use human fat. Firstly, you can use human fat to fuel your cars by making it into bio-diesel. There are a lot of people who might be interested in using this fat as a fuel source as it could be a “better” way to reduce society’s need for fossil fuels after all those can’t be replenished like human fat. Secondly, you can use it to make candles products. Thirdly, you can use it for soaps and other cosmetics. Fourthly, you can use it in cooking, as cooking oil and it can be refined into a margarine substitute for those who are lactose-intolerant. Fifthly, the heavier and thicker fat can be used to grease machinery. Lastly, when blended with protein, flavoring, and vitamin and mineral supplements, this fat can also be used for nutrient dense food items. Animal cruelty is becoming more and more of a popular cause to fight against and using human fat instead of animal fat and using the food cubes you would reduce the deaths in the animal population.
The downsides to this incredible opportunity could be the possible spreading of diseases in various ways. Society might not take to the idea as well because using human fat as a food supplement could be viewed as a form of cannibalism, and even if the procedure was free, would people really buy into it and do this. And a huge unknown might be how human fat breaks down as it re-enters the human body and how it breaks down in diesel engines.
This is the perfect solution to solving America’s obesity and possibly reducing how much fuel is imported. There are so many possibilities not even thought of for the unused fat in the Americas not to mention the whole world. Using America’s fat to shape more than the human body, using it to shape the world.
(560 words)
 Mozes, Alan “How much fat can liposuction remove” (2015)
Liposuction Rates
American Society of Plastic Surgeons “2017 Cosmetic Surgery Gender Distribution” (2018)
Plastic Surgery Statistics