Reptiles and Amphibians as Sources

¶ … Reptiles and amphibians as sources of food: The solution to sustainability?

Concerns about the sustainability of the Western diet, which heavily emphasizes methane-producing beef, chicken, pork, and endangered seafood, have motivated both ordinary consumers and chefs alike to seek out other sources of protein, including bison, wild game such as venison, insects -- and even reptiles and amphibians. While many may curl their nose at the prospect of eating herptiles for food, these creatures are routinely consumed in many areas of the world. Frogs and turtles are already farmed for food. However, from the point-of-view of an investor who is responsive to current concerns about sustainability in the market place, the animal that is most amenable to the current palate, is the most easy to cultivate without damage to the environment and to raise without illness, and which also yields the greatest final marketable weight is the alligator. Alligators are said to 'taste like chicken' and can be used in similar applications, yet they require less land and financial and environmental resources to sustain.

True, in France, frog's legs are a delicacy. "Consumption of frogs' legs in France totals 3000 to 4000 tons per year (60 to 80 million frogs)" (About typical French food, 2010, French Food and Cook). However, the consumption of frogs raises questions about the impact eating such animals has upon the environment. Frogs are a protected species in France, so most of the frogs' legs consumed in France are imported from Indonesia. Because of the fungal disease chytridiomycosis, a large proportion of the world's amphibian population is deemed to be under threat, and while treatable in captivity, the susceptibility of frogs to the condition make them questionable as a source of high-quality protein (Pessier 2010). Also, most frogs are quite small: even in France, frogs are consumed mainly as appetizers. The fact that they are very low in calories, only 70 calorie per 3.5 oz, makes them fairly unsatisfying as food (About typical French food, 2010, French Food and Cook). And eating frogs as food may have contributed to the spread of pathogens: "In countries such as Indonesia, which exports about 45% of all frog legs, the majority of animals are thought to be wild-caught and there is little to no effort to monitor this food source for disease pathogens. Any trade in live frogs or fresh, un-skinned frog legs presents a substantial risk of the spread of amphibian chytrid" (Frog legs, 2009, ScienceDaily). Although these reptiles are not as immediately deleterious to the environment as farm-raised mammals, there are sustainability concerns.

It is also important to remember many reptiles and amphibians are endangered. While, eating reptiles and amphibians has long been acceptable in Japan, overhunting of endangered species, such as the giant salamander, has become of increasing concern. Even if giant salamanders may feed more individuals, they too are not sustainable sources of food because of their scarcity. However, turtles may not pose such sustainability or scarcity issues, and turtle soup has been popular throughout the ages. The popularity of turtle meat in Cajun cuisine, combined with the hardiness of turtles might make turtle meat a likely candidate for more widespread consumption: "Turtle soup is a great delicacy in Louisiana. The flavor of the turtle meat is both delicate and intense; there are supposedly seven distinct flavors of meat within the turtle (Turtle Soup, 2010, Gumbo). The fact that turtles are larger and have a wider variety of culinary applications than frogs makes them potentially superior as a food source. However, turtles raised in captivity have also been implicated in environmental problems: "turtles regularly escape or are purposely set free into the wild. They establish populations and damage local ecosystems by eating native frogs and other wildlife" (California upholds ban, 2010, Reptile Channel).