For more than a decade, people have been told to eat insects to fight climate change. Snakes are a hot new food source to reduce carbon emissions, scientists say.
A new study suggests humans increase snake consumption as an alternative food to reduce greenhouse gases.
Research published in scientific report “Python farming appears to have tangible benefits for sustainability and food system resilience,” it said last week.
The study’s authors claim that python farming “not only complements existing livestock systems, but also has the potential to provide better benefits in terms of production efficiency.”
“This is an alternative livestock system that needs to be taken seriously.” Said Lead author of this paper – Dr. Daniel Natush. “I’m not necessarily saying that everyone should stop eating beef and rely on pythons, but we do need to have a conversation about pythons having a more prominent place in agriculture.”
“Climate change, disease and declining natural resources are all increasing pressure on traditional livestock and plant crops, with dire consequences for many people in low-income countries who already suffer from acute protein deficiencies. There is.” Said Natusch – Honorary Research Fellow in the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University.
Professor Natush added: “No other domesticated species studied so far has the same qualifications or production rates as the python.”
The study found that pythons that were starved for up to 4.2 months lost an average of only 0.004% of their body weight per day, but “resumed rapid growth as soon as they resumed feeding.”
Researchers argued that pythons provide valuable “food security” in a world suffering from “global food insecurity” because pythons can go for months without foo. .
Scientists say farm pythons most commonly feed on wild-caught rodents, “wasting protein from the agricultural and food supply chain (pork, poultry, fish, etc.).” It pointed out. The paper added that python farms control rodent populations, which is also beneficial to humans.
“Feeding livestock with plant protein obtained from monocrop cultivation in areas where their natural habitat once existed is better than trapping pest rodents or using waste protein as food for pythons. It’s much less sustainable,” Natush added.
The paper’s lead author noted that pythons rapidly grew to “slaughter weight” within the first year of life. He also said pythons emit far fewer greenhouse gases than traditional livestock.
new scientist “An important point missing from this study’s comparison is the fact that snakes, which are carnivores, feed on plant-eating animals, whereas other domestic animals feed primarily on plants. If you compare the total mass of plant material required for a snake, it may appear that the snake is not very efficient.”
Natush countered that it’s not an efficiency issue because the farm’s pythons are fed rodents and waste meat, and the snakes are consuming an unnecessary food source that would normally go unused.
Natush even claims that python farming is more sustainable than many plant-based foods.
“For vegans, my experience is that more animals suffer from putting crops in the ground each year than are killed to feed pythons,” he asserted.
Natush claimed that the snake tasted similar to chicken, explaining: “If you prepare it well, it’s amazing.”
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