Invasive to Southwest Florida, iguanas taste like chicken, so say some students and professors at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida.
Naples Daily News reported that university members sampled iguana meat tacos as an environmentally and financially sustainable meal option.
According to environmental science professor John O'Connell, eating iguana meat is a culinary thrill, as well as a responsible act. Iguanas disrupt the Florida ecosystem, where they ruin landscapes, compete with native species, and spread pathogens in their feces.
Iguana meat, because it can be easily hunted, is essentially a free protein that does not have to be shipped, so it is also carbon-friendly.
Food production, according to CarbonBrief, makes up one-quarter of the world's carbon impact. Meat and dairy specifically make up 14.5% of planet-warming gas pollution, per the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.
Beef, pork, and chicken production greatly contribute to the gas pollution that traps heat in the atmosphere and warms the planet, according to a report on Food Print.
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When food is sustainably hunted rather than mass-produced, carbon pollution is offset, and ecosystems can be restored.
If iguana hunting becomes a habit for Florida natives, the planet and Florida's biodiversity will benefit. Many hunters, like YouTuber Airgun Evolution, highly recommend it, as it is a cheap and sustainable way to source meat.
Florida Gulf Coast University's iguana taco picnic is a great example of how hunting can benefit an ecosystem and outdoor air quality, especially one in which a species as invasive as iguanas has overpopulated.
Professor O'Connell of Florida Gulf Coast University said, per Naples Daily News, "You don't have to get this (iguana meat) from a factory farm (and) have it shipped across the country. It's here."
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The health benefits 🥗 Trying new things, especially foods, can be scary. A protein as relatively unfamiliar as iguana is a brave try, but students at Florida Gulf Coast University were surprised by how familiar it tasted.
Student Jaydean Skyers took her time considering the adventurous taco. After some thought, she simply said, "It does taste like chicken," per Naples Daily News.
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