Beef alternative could open new avenues for leather
08/07/2008
Argentina may be gripped by a farmer’s strike, and the country’s famously high per capita consumption of beef may be decreasing, but a new initiative could open up new possibilities for the country’s leather sector.
A study carried out by the agriculture department at the National University of the Littoral in Santa Fe has found that health-conscious Argentinians who are cutting down on beef should turn to the yacaré caiman instead.
The meat from this species of crocodile, which counts northern Argentina as one of its main breeding areas, has twice the levels of omega 3 and ten times the amount of omega 6 fatty acids of more traditional forms of protein, said the academic that led the research, Leandro Lucero.
The reptiles are now being bred under carefully controlled conditions in the north of the country and plans already exist to increase production and start to make more of the leather that can be produced from the hides.
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