Python meat can become a popular food source because of the values it brings compared to poultry, pork, beef…
Raising pythons for meat can bring unexpected benefits (Photo: Getty).
When it comes to pythons, we often think little about killing them, or raising them for meat. However, according to a new study by international scientists, raising pythons for meat can bring unexpected benefits.
Daniel Natusch, a researcher from Macquarie University (Australia), affirmed that relying on python meat as a main food source is completely feasible. In fact, this could bring many advantages to the global food supply chain.
This comes from the special fasting ability of pythons, which helps them adjust their metabolism and maintain health in many different situations. “This is a key point in the face of global food insecurity,” Daniel said.
“Pythons can fast for several months without losing much body mass. This makes them ideal for keeping in conditions where food and water supplies are not guaranteed.”
By studying two common python species in Thailand and Vietnam, whose scientific names are respectively Malayopython reticulatus and Python double-edgedresearchers found that the ratio of food consumed by pythons to the amount of meat produced is much lower than other species raised for meat.
Specifically, this ratio in python reached 1.2, compared to 1.5 for salmon, 2.8 for poultry, 6.0 for pork and 10.0 for beef. In that, lower ratio means higher efficiency.
In other words, if raising pythons, farmers can achieve higher profits, with a lower cost for the amount of money to buy food.
“Breeding and raising pythons in captive facilities for meat or commercial purposes is biologically and economically feasible,” the project’s researchers said.
Another advantage is that pythons can also be fed protein waste from food industries. Therefore, choosing food for them does not face many challenges.
However, there are still many limitations before talking about putting this into practice. The first is to establish a model for properly raising pythons, including equipment, environmental conditions… Then, of course, there is the question of whether python meat is accepted by the market, or whether python meat is acceptable to the market. Are they delicious, and what is their nutritional content…
Finally, people’s inherent fear when it comes to cold-blooded reptiles such as pythons, snakes… clearly cannot be erased. Many people shudder at the mere mention of them. When will the agricultural potential of pythons be accepted on a global scale?