{"id":12519,"date":"2017-04-24t18:58:06","date_gmt":"2017-04-24t18:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/moo-ve-over-cows-a-sustainable-jungle-towns-efforts-to-raise-iguanas-instead-of-cows-for-meat\/"},"modified":"2023-02-28t18:46:17","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28t18:46:17","slug":"moo-ve-over-cows-a-sustainable-jungle-towns-efforts-to-raise-iguanas-instead-of-cows-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/moo-ve-over-cows-a-sustainable-jungle-towns-efforts-to-raise-iguanas-instead-of-cows-for\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cmoo\u201d-ve over, cows: a sustainable jungle town\u2019s efforts to raise iguanas instead of cows for meat"},"content":{"rendered":"

by matt zdun<\/strong><\/p>\n

cattle that look more like large goats graze along an unpaved roadside in the jungles of panama. <\/p>\n

at the end of that road, kalu yala, a sustainable jungle town about 50 miles outside of panama city, hopes to begin raising iguanas and repopulating them in their native habitat.<\/p>\n

but this comes as the biology department of the town and educational institute also searches for sustainable protein alternatives to beef.  <\/p>\n

ryan king, director of biology, said cattle have been the cause of widespread deforestation that \u201cdevastated the tropics\u201d over the past 50 years.  <\/p>\n

according to a livestock policy brief<\/a> released by the united nations, \u201cthe link between deforestation and cattle ranching is strongest in latin america.\u201d<\/p>\n

the report found that forest area in latin america was reduced by about 40 percent between 1960 and 2000, the same period in which the cattle population increased rapidly.<\/p>\n

of that deforested land, an estimated 50 to 80 percent was used for cattle pastures, according to the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cit\u2019s just not feasible long term,\u201d king said.<\/p>\n

that is where iguanas enter the picture as latin america\u2019s \u201cchicken of the trees.\u201d<\/p>\n