Could Ostrich Replace Red Meat?
(SPECIALTY FOOD NEWS) February 13, 2016 — Ostrich meat may be the answer to producing proteins with a smaller impact on the environment, as ostriches create virtually no methane, and the fact that their meat is 97 percent fat-free and is often compared to filet mignon in taste, coloring, and texture. Ostriches also only use about a quarter of the water used for cattle production.
Currently, ostrich meat is not widely produced because its profit values are lower than other proteins. However, ostrich farmer Alex McCoy of American Ostrich Farms believes that if ostrich meat becomes big enough to keep prices competitive and be stocked in more stores, people will be open to trying it. He currently only processes a small number of birds and sells them direct to consumers through his website, but he hopes to increase his flock from 150 to 2,000 by 2018.
No one is currently distributing ostrich meat nationally because most operations are at a limited scale. McCoy hopes, however, that if others move into ostrich farming it could “transform” America’s red meat industry, reported Modern Farmer. Full Story