By Julia Jacobo
Python farming could offer one of the most sustainable sources of meat in the world, according to a new study – Python produces large slabs of white meat similar to chicken filet.
Scientists are learning more about what sources of meat could serve as more sustainable alternatives to beef, pork and chicken.
Python meat could offer a form of meat much less carbon intensive than the current options, according to researchers who studied farms in Southeast Asia for two species of pythons — reticulated and Burmese — for 12 months.
Farmed python meat may offer a more sustainable alternative to other farmed meat because they can reproduce rapidly, even when food is not abundantly available, according to a study published in Scientific Reports on Thursday.
Pythons have an “extreme biology and evolutionary slant toward extreme resource and energy efficiency,” Patrick Aust, conservation specialist at nonprofit People for Wildlife and co-author of the paper, told ABC News. Since pythons are an “ambush predator” that chooses prey up to 100% their own weight, they can survive for prolonged periods of time between meals, Aust said.
“These animals are extremely good converters of food and particularly protein,” he said. “Literally, they are specialists and making the most of very little.”
The pythons were fed on a weekly basis a variety of locally sourced proteins, such as wild-caught rodents and fishmeal, and were regularly measured and weighed over a 12-month period, according to the paper. The authors found that both species of python grew rapidly — by up to 46 grams per day — with females seeing higher growth rates than males.
Pythons are also able to survive extreme events, Aust said. When supply chains get disrupted — as displayed during the COVID-19 pandemic — it can have a “catastrophic impact” on global livestock systems.
“During COVID-19, there were a large number of chickens and pigs that had to be culled because there were minor disruptions in supply chains,” Aust said. “Farmers couldn’t handle even that disruption.”
Pythons, however, were shown during the study period to survive prolonged periods of disruptions, or extreme weather events, without suffering any ill effect,” Aust said, adding that they were at the “whims of the seasons” in southern Vietnam and Cambodia.
“They can pick up at the end of those periods,” he said.
The world is in need of high-quality protein with much less of a carbon footprint — especially as the effects of climate change continue to worsen, the researchers said.
“We really are running out resources, whilst at the same time, the demand for high quality nutrients is going up,” Aust said.
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While Aust and his family regularly eat python meat — often fried with a “nice crispy crunch” — he added that it will take a long time for the Western world to culturally adapt to the thought of eating snakes.
“This isn’t going to be a cure-all for our protein needs, but perhaps will play an important role in the future in terms of acceptability palatability in the Western palate,” Aust said.
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“Pythons can feel pain and fear, and they don’t want to be slaughtered any more than a cow, pig, chicken, or dog does,” Danielle Katz, PETA senior director of campaigns, told ABC News in a statement. “Experts agree that vegan eating is crucial for stopping the climate catastrophe in its tracks, so adding more animals to the already billions who suffer and die for food every year would be as misguided as it is cruel.”
Addendum from Charles
Despite the knee-jerk antagonistic reaction associating python farming with the “eat the bugs” attack on traditional food supplies, I see no problem with python farming at all. If it is cost efficient and produces appetizing and nutritious meat, how is this different from, say fish farming?
Looking on the bright side. If Python took over from beef, it would streamline the McDonalds preparation process. No need to mince them up and make into round pats to sit between the burger bun. Just slice the perfectly round Python at the required thickness once they have reached bun size diameter. Very efficient, is the skin edible? Maybe the skins could be given away to the customers so they can fashion their own snakeskin something? A ‘win win’ all round as they used to say in the consultancy mad world of past times.😊
“Maybe the skins could be given away to the customers so they can fashion their own snakeskin something?”
Snakeskin plastic fork holder?
But you might have to watch out for bones if they just sliced out round patties.
OOH! Sell them as including free toothpicks!
Snek are good! And no, it doesn’t taste like chicken unless you put chicken seasoning on it.
Do Pythons fart? Just curious.
Actually, the only Python I’d be interested in is made by Colt Firearms. Blued with a 4″ barrel would be preferable.
I have a 6″ full target I bought in 1981. Beautifully made.
Charles, Tyrus, who raises pythons, does not agree with your assessment, Check out his comments on the Gutfeld show.
How do you herd them?
The left has gone far beyond absurd, hare-brained schemes into continuous self-parody.
Sort of reminds of what outdoor humorist, Patrick F. McManus, had in one of his stories.
His wife was reading an article that said cattails (the plant) are good to eat. He corrected her by saying, “No. Cattails are edible. If they were “good” to eat they’d sell them in grocery stores.”
Let the market, not the Government, decide if people want to eat python burgers.
“The pythons were fed on a weekly basis a variety of locally sourced proteins, such as wild-caught rodents and fishmeal,”
How do you get a python to eat fishmeal?
Just curious.
Seasoning on the mice?
Yet another non solution to a non problem.
People can raise and eat all the pythons they want I could care less. It won’t make a damn bit of difference to the climate and I wouldn’t be making a difference changing my protein source to python.
This is stupid.
The concern with beef is the CO2 released in it’s production. The reason people started raising livestock is because they convert cellulose to meat. So undigestible (for humans) input becomes food. Eating snakes requires you to convert meat to meat. So CO2 impact depends on what the snake food is. I am guessing the analysis didn’t consider this adequately. Very little cellulose I suspect. I don’t think the science would support this as sustainable.
This was my thought with helping control the population of pythons in south Florida. Get then on the “Starters” menu along with Lionfish and gator. But there is a problem. They are reported to have a high mercury content. So it sounds like we just get snake skin boots.
Just to be on the forward edge, I’ve filed for a Trademark on the yet to be formed fast food franchise for the Python Burger to be called “The Monty”.