2024-03-19 05:18:24
Farming pythons could become a sustainable and efficient new type of animal husbandry to increase food security, say study authors from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, Phys. Org. and BTA reported.
The study took place at two python farms in Southeast Asia and was led by Dr Daniel Natush from the Australian University’s Faculty of Life Sciences. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Dr. Natush’s team found that pythons convert food, increasing their weight remarkably more efficiently than chickens and cattle, which are traditionally raised for human consumption.
“In terms of food conversion ratio, pythons outperform all major agricultural species studied so far,” said Dr. Natush. “Snake meat is white and high in protein,” he added.
The researchers compared reticulated pythons (Malayopython reticulatus) and Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) raised in python farms in Thailand and Vietnam by examining the effects of different diets on them.
“Climate change, disease and natural resource depletion are increasing the pressure on conventional livestock and crop production, with dire consequences for many people in low-income countries already suffering from acute protein shortages,” said Dr Natus. of traditional food production systems leading to widespread food insecurity are driving interest in alternative food sources,” he added.
Snake meat is a sustainable food source high in protein and low in saturated fat that is already widely consumed in Southeast Asia and China.
“Although there is large-scale python farming in Asia, it has not yet received sufficient attention from leading agricultural scientists,” said Dr. Natush. “Our study shows that python farming complements existing animal husbandry systems and can offer a flexible and efficient response to global food insecurity,” he elaborated.
The production of snake meat produces far fewer greenhouse gases than that of mammals.
However, it is unlikely that Australia or Europe will adopt python farming.
“I think it will be a long time before you see python meat burgers served at your favorite restaurant,” said Dr Natush.