{"id":128504,"date":"2024-03-15T04:49:07","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T08:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/d5t8g5d.farmpresstheme.com\/agro\/could-python-farming-offer-hope-for-global-food-security-impacted-by-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2024-03-15T04:49:07","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T08:49:07","slug":"could-python-farming-offer-hope-for-global-food-security-impacted-by-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d5t8g5d.farmpresstheme.com\/agro\/could-python-farming-offer-hope-for-global-food-security-impacted-by-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Could python farming offer hope for global food security impacted by climate change?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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CAIRNS, Australia, March 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — New research suggests farming pythons could offer a viable alternative to conventional livestock in parts of the world where the challenges of the climate crisis, pandemics, and degradation of agricultural land are undermining global food production.<\/p>\n

Lead researcher, reptile expert Dr Daniel Natusch, said: \u201cIn terms of some of the most important sustainability criteria, pythons outperform all mainstream agricultural species studied to date.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reptiles produce fewer greenhouse gases, require less water than do warm-blooded livestock, are more resilient to extreme climatic conditions, and they do not transmit dangerous diseases like bird flu or COVID-19.<\/p>\n

This latest research, which monitored pythons in farms in Thailand and Vietnam, suggests these reptiles are a more efficient source of protein production than conventional livestock like poultry, pork, beef, and salmon.<\/p>\n

Dr Natusch is the Chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Snake Specialist Group, comprising the world\u2019s foremost snake experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cConventional livestock systems, driven by energy intensive endothermic (warm-blooded) animals are faltering,\u201d Dr Natusch said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcute protein deficiency continues to compromise the health of millions of children, while at the same time demand for high quality protein among emerging middle-class consumers is soaring \u2013 so there is an urgent need to explore alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Co-author of the paper, Africa-based ecologist Dr Patrick Aust, said: \u201cConsidering Africa is currently experiencing the brunt of an unprecedented El Nino-driven drought, where conventional livestock are dropping dead in the fields, the ability to regulate metabolic processes and maintain body condition that reptiles offer during times of famine could be a game changer for livestock production.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the pythons in our study stopped eating for four months \u2013 45 per cent of their lives \u2013 and lost almost no body condition,\u201d Dr Aust said.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine not feeding a chicken for four months, it would be dead within four to five days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Natusch said that over the last two decades, snake farming has expanded to include more species, production models, and markets, partly because of their competitive agricultural advantages.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlobal food security is predicted to worsen with climate change, and the agricultural sector will also suffer increasing compound effects from infectious diseases and diminishing natural resources,\u201d Dr Natusch said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEctotherms (cold-blooded animals) are up to 90 per cent more energy efficient than endotherms, and this readily translates into a potential for sustainable meat production.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Natusch believes in countries with a cultural precedent for eating reptiles, and where food security is increasingly compromised through the impacts of global challenges such as climate change, reptile farming offers potentially transformative opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo seize this opportunity, we urgently need more research into the agricultural potential of reptiles, and the most effective and humane ways to produce this novel group of livestock animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Python farming as a flexible and efficient form of agricultural food security<\/em><\/strong>, is published this week in Scientific Reports.<\/p>\n

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