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EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/   Could pythons soon make their way to the dinner plate? As scientists explore sustainable alternatives to beef, pork, and chicken, pythons fit the bill as high protein producers with a relatively small environmental footprint.  About EarthxNews: A weekly program dedicated to covering the stories that shape the planet. Featuring the latest updates in energy, environment, tech, climate, and more.   EarthX Love Our Planet.  The Official Network of Earth Day.   About Us:  At EarthX, we believe our planet is a pretty special place. The people, landscapes, and critters are likely unique to the entire universe, so we consider ourselves lucky to be here. We are committed to protecting the environment by inspiring conservation and sustainability, and our programming along with our range of expert hosts support this mission. We’re glad you’re with us.     EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.       EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/    Follow Us:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthxtv/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthxtv  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthxtv      How to watch:   United States:   - Spectrum  - AT&T U-verse (1267)  - DIRECTV (267)  - Philo  - FuboTV  - Plex       #EarthDay #Environment #Sustainability #Eco-friendly #Conservation #EarthxTV #EarthX

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00:00Scientists are exploring what sources of meat could serve as more sustainable alternatives

00:07to beef, pork, and chicken. And according to a recent study, python farming could be

00:12the answer. The latest research suggests the scaly reptiles may offer a way to produce

00:18a source of protein with a relatively small environmental footprint. So could eating snake

00:23be what's for dinner in the future? Joining us now to discuss is Dr. Patrick Aust, Director

00:28of the African Institute of Applied Herpetology. Thank you for coming on. So eating pythons,

00:34is it really more sustainable than something like chicken?

00:36Yeah, apparently so. Certainly according to our research, it seems like their food conversion

00:43efficiencies and particularly their protein conversion efficiencies are far more efficient

00:49than similar sized, you know, conventional livestock species like chickens and pigs.

00:57Well, in recent years, we've seen the supply chain get a little bit out of whack from here

01:02or there. Do pythons fare well with supply chains being impacted by something like extreme weather?

01:09Yeah, absolutely. And that was one of the other interesting things that came out of

01:13our study, and that is the ability for these animals not only to live and grow with very

01:18little food, but also to survive extremely long periods of time with no food at all and

01:25without losing much body mass at all. In fact, they're very, very good at shutting

01:31down their physiology, their biology, and surviving for up to a year, literally with

01:37no food and very little water. And of course, these are traits that one looks for when you're

01:43trying to find livestock species that can cope with an increasing frequency of extreme

01:49weather events, droughts, so on and so forth.

01:52Is anyone farming pythons in the world right now?

01:55Yeah, absolutely. It's certainly not very common and certainly not in the West. But

01:59in Southeast Asia, there are a lot of farmers that have now turned to python farming, partly

02:05because they have this competitive edge in very challenging landscapes. And when we talk

02:11about extreme weather events, it's not so much a case of extreme weather events in Southeast

02:16Asia, although they do play a part, but it's increasing frequency of pandemics, particularly

02:24swine and bird flu that are wreaking havoc in the poultry and pork industries. And so

02:29a lot of these farmers have thrown in the towel and they've now opted to farm pythons.

02:34Hypothetically, say we all just start eating snakes for dinner now, how would it help the

02:38environment?

02:40It's a fairly long list, to be brutally honest with you. But I think, first and foremost,

02:45we need far less resources to grow that protein that we require. Of course, then there's other

02:52advantages like their ability to survive, to tolerate extreme weather events, shutdowns

02:58and supply chains, to act as a biological barrier to zoonotic diseases. They also have

03:05these attributes like the ability to be farmed on the vertical plane because they are partially

03:11arboreal. They live in trees and underground. Farmers have realized that unlike chickens

03:17and pigs, which effectively you have to farm on a two-dimensional plane, with pythons,

03:23they can move up and down. So you can farm them in very small areas.

03:28How might a snake even be prepared for the table?

03:34Lots of different ways. I mean, it's a culinary delicacy throughout much of Asia. And, you

03:40know, with that, you know, it can be cooked and prepared in any number of ways and spiced

03:45up in any number of ways.

03:47Listen, I haven't had python yet, but I have actually tried rattlesnake in Arizona. And

03:53I did think that it tasted a little bit like chicken. If no one had told me it was snake,

03:57I wouldn't have known. Do you think that it might start to become more acceptable in the

04:02West to eat snakes?

04:05Yeah, I think so. I think, you know, certainly when looking for those competitive advantages,

04:12the other thing they offer is a nice big white juicy fillet, boneless fillet. But certainly

04:17when it comes to the culinary aspect, I think they lend themselves to a lot of Western cuisine.

04:23Dr. Patrick Aust, thank you. I'm sure a lot of foodies will enjoy this conversation.

04:30Thank you very much for having me.

04:34Thank you.

Python on the Menu | EarthxNews | EarthX

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