Fancy a plate of fangers and mash? Some researchers say python farms on a commercial scale could provide sustainable alternative protein
Fangers: n. 毒牙
Mash：n. 糊状食物
By Eden Gillespie（不是我，我只是负责提炼这篇文章里的vocab讲解）
Thu 14 Mar 2024
Dr Daniel Natusch has eaten python almost every way imaginable.
"I've had it barbecued. I've had it in satay skewers. I've had it in curries. I've had it with Indigenous people in the wilds of the Malaysian jungle," he said.
Satay: n. 烤肉
Skewers: n. 烤肉串
"I've even done it myself as biltong - uncooked meats that are dried with herbs."
Biltong: 干肉条，腊肉
At the risk of sounding like a cliche, the reptile expert says the meat tastes just like chicken.
Cliche[kli'∫e]: n. 陈词滥调。近义词：Platitude n. 陈词滥调，老生常谈
But to try it, you'd likely have to fly somewhere like Thailand or Vietnam where Natusch and Botswana-based ecologist, Dr Patrick Aust, have worked monitoring commercial python farms.
A paper co-authored by the researchers found the commercial farming of these reptiles could offer a sustainable alternative to conventional livestock in places like southern Africa amid the challenges of food security and climate change.
Conventional: adj. 传统的。近义词：Traditional。它们不同的点在于traditional一般用于表达某种存在于一群人或者社会中很长时间没有被改变的行为或者习俗，而conventional一般用于表达那些在社会中被大部分人所认同事常规的、正确的、可接受的行为与态度
Livestock: n. 家禽。Live adj. 活的，stock n. 存储；live+stock=活的存储=家禽
Amid: v. 被……环绕
Stock would be hatched from eggs laid at farms, not wild caught, with candidate species including the Burmese python, reticulated python and the southern African rock python.
Reticulated: adj. 同reticulate(adj)，网状的。Reticulate还有动词形态：使……呈网状
"These pythons can live for almost a month with no water. They can live off the water that sets on their scales in the morning. They can go for almost a year without eating, " Natusch said.
"We're not necessarily saying everyone should stop eating beef and turn to pythons but there needs to be a conversation about them having a more prominent place in the agricultural mix."
Prominent: adj. 重要的。近义词：Important。
Natusch, the chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Snake Specialist Group, said pythons have other advantages. His research found they could be a more efficient protein source than livestock, poultry or salmon.
Poultry: n. 同livestock，家禽
This is because, according to the researchers, reptiles require less water, produce fewer greenhouse gases, are more resilient to extreme climatic conditions and don't transmit diseases like bird flu or Covid-19.
Resilient: adj. 有适应力的
Would Australians put snake on their plate?
Natusch lives in Cairns in far north Queensland where crocodile meat is readily available, but he thinks Australians might not be ready to eat python just yet.
"If humanity is serous about genuinely implementing sustainable practices and future-proofing ourselves, we need to start thinking outside the box," he said.
Genuinely: adv. 真正地。“Genu”谐音“真正”，-ine表形容词，-ly表副词，Genu+ine+ly=真正的+地（形容词词缀和副词词缀同时出现是副词）=真正地
Implementing: adj. 可实施的 implement n. 实施，-ing 表形容词，可……的；implement+ing=可实施的
"But I totally get that your average Australian is probably going to turn up their nose at a bit of python steak."
Commercial farming is more likely to take off in parts of Africa and Asia where eating snake is not as taboo, according to the researchers.
Aust believes it could be a viable option in southern Africa particularly where a severe drought is killing off livestock.
"Considering Africa is currently experiencing the brunt of an unprecedented EI 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 gamechanger for livestock production," he said.
Brunt: n. 主要影响
Unprecedented: adj. 史无前例的 Un- 没有的，precent v. 出现，-dent 表名词，precedent n. 出现，-ed 表形容词；un+precedent+ed=史无前例的
Famine: n. 饥荒。谐音“发米”，因为“饥荒”所以要等着“发米”
Commercial python farming is far less likely in Australia where there aren't too many species that would be suitable, according to Natusch.
"We have the pygmy python over in the Pilbara - the world's smallest species of python, that's not much bigger than your index finger," Natusch said.
Pygmy: n. 侏儒。Pyg谐音“屁股”，my就是“我的”——那个侏儒（pygmy）好矮，才到我的（my）屁股（pyg）
Index finger: n. 食指；index n. 指引
"There aren't too many Australian candidates you'd get an enormous fillet off - maybe a diamond python or carpet python."
Fillet: n. 切片
But Lin Schwarzkopf, head of zoology and ecology at James Cook University, said a much closer examination of all the facets of growing pythons was needed before deciding whether we should eat the reptile.
Facets: n. 方面。近义词：aspect
"There's a basic problem with feeding people predators that I don't see how you're getting rid of with the pythons," she said.
"I would need to see more information about the supply chain before I thought it was a great idea."
Schwarzkopf said pythons grew very quickly but were not easy to grow.
"They need to change their body temperature voluntarily. So you have to provide them with warm areas and cooler areas. And that's a difficult thing to do on an industrial scale, and it's very expensive," she said.
"What we should be doing is feeding the world with plant material if we want to support large numbers of people."
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