That's how it always was. People were eating only the best parts of the animal and dumping the rest. More over, the best is converted mostly to sh*t and dumped too. Fish do the same.
No, that is a relatively recent development. There are many old recipes involving body parts of animals that many people no longer consider eating these days. Back then, as many parts of the animal were used for consumption or other use as possible.
My understanding is that the modern meatpacking industry is very efficient at turning those parts into sausages, highly-processed meat products, pet food, animal feed, and fertilizer.
> People were eating only the best parts of the animal and dumping the rest.
That's not true. As recently as 50 years ago my relatives had pigs and they ate or otherwise used every single part of the animal, even the teeth, without throwing anything out. And they weren't poor, either. It was simply a mindset of utilizing what you have to the best of your ability.
