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Snakes on a plate? Scientists recommend python as a food source

by Sarkiya Ranen
in Health
Snakes on a plate? Scientists recommend python as a food source
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You’ve probably heard the arguments that crickets and other bugs represent a nutritious, environmentally preferable alternative to humankind’s overwhelming reliance on chickens, pigs and cows as sources of protein. But perhaps you’re also among the many that find the idea of chowing down on insects distasteful.

Now a team of scientists led by Daniel J.D. Natusch of the School of Natural Science at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, are suggesting another option: python.

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In a newly published paper in the journal Scientific Reports, Natusch and his colleagues suggest that pythons could function as a new type of livestock, farmed and used as food. What’s more, the ratio of food consumed by the python to meat produced – where a lower number is better – was just 1.2 for the snakes, compared to 1.5 for salmon, 2.8 for poultry, 6 for pork and 10 for beef.

“Ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) are approximately 90 per cent more energy efficient than endotherms,” the scientists write. “In the context of agriculture, this energy differential readily translates into a potential for higher production efficiency. It is partly for this reason that the aquaculture and insect farming industries are currently experiencing rapid growth rates.”

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The paper, Python Farming as a Flexible and Efficient Form of Agricultural Food Security, notes that pythons not only grow rapidly; they are also able to fast for long periods of time without losing much body mass. In fact, pythons could go without food for more than four months while losing just 0.004 per cent of their body mass per day, and they resumed rapid growth as soon as feeding resumed.

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“The ability of fasting pythons to regulate metabolic processes and maintain body condition enhances food security in volatile environments, suggesting that python farming may offer a flexible and efficient response to global food insecurity,” the researchers write. In addition, pythons can be fed with “waste proteins” (i.e.; sausages) from other meat industries.

The scientists note that there are already small-scale snake farms in places such as Thailand and Vietnam. But they caution that there are hurdles to clear before we see operations on the scale of more common livestock industries.

For instance, they note that snakes require more labour to feed, and they are not as well understood as other food animals. Finally, there’s the question of what snake tastes like and whether, like bugs, the “ick” factor might stop many people from even wanting to find out.

Or as the paper notes: “The biology and husbandry requirements of pythons are poorly understood relative to many endothermic taxa.”

It adds: “Coupled with the general fear humans have towards snakes, it may be some time before the agricultural potential of pythons is realized at the global scale.”

Though on the subject of taste, it adds optimistically: “Reptile meat is not unlike chicken: high in protein, low in saturated fats, and with widespread aesthetic and culinary appeal.”

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Sarkiya Ranen

Sarkiya Ranen

I am an editor for Ny Journals, focusing on business and entrepreneurship. I love uncovering emerging trends and crafting stories that inspire and inform readers about innovative ventures and industry insights.

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