Snakes on a plate: pythons touted as protein alternative
The Hindu
Demand for meat is growing globally and while a plant-based diet is often touted as the best alternative, some feel reptiles have been overlooked as an option.
In a warehouse in the lush humid farmlands of central Thailand, thousands of pythons lie coiled in containers, rearing and striking at the glass as people pass by.
They are being raised for their robust, diamond-patterned skins, which are sold to high-end European fashion houses for belts, bags and handbags, but some scientists and industry insiders believe the snakes' true value could lie in their meat.
Demand for meat is growing globally, despite the carbon footprint associated with traditional livestock, and while a plant-based diet is often touted as the best alternative, some feel reptiles have been overlooked as an option.
Snakes can tolerate high temperatures and drought, reproduce quickly, and grow far faster than traditional sources of animal protein, while consuming a lot less food.
Researchers estimate that China and Vietnam alone have at least 4,000 python farms, producing several million snakes, mostly for the fashion industry.
"Python farming may offer a flexible and efficient response to global food insecurity," concluded a study published earlier this year in the journal Nature.
The researchers spent a year studying nearly 5,000 reticulated and Burmese pythons at two commercial farms in Vietnam and Thailand.
What began as a routine one-week mission for astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule quickly escalated into an unexpected eight-month stay in space. After a successful launch in June 2024, their mission faced multiple technical failures, including thruster malfunctions and helium leaks, making it too risky to return using the Starliner. NASA’s solution? Delay their return until early 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. Despite the extended mission, Williams and Wilmore remained resilient, continuing their work on the ISS as NASA worked to resolve the situation.
The story of the first-of-its-kind collaboration between award-winning Indian couturier Rahul Mishra and Italy’s multimillion-dollar fashion house Tod’s goes back to 2017 when their paths crossed in Paris. The latter reached out to Rahul — who had created waves in the industry with his couture edits at platforms like Paris Fashion Week — for a limited-edition handcrafted capsule of bags and shoes, which provoked his fiercely creative mind to take up the challenge. Made with absolute luxury of time and embroidered with intricate details, the Rahul Mishra X Tod’s has been launched today, during London Fashion Week, at Tod’s Bond Street Boutique.