The nutritional truth about “wild game”: Is it a tonic or a health trap?

In the long evolution of food culture, "wild game" is often shrouded in a mysterious and attractive veil. Generally speaking, "wild game" is a habitual name for food from wild animals in China. Wild mammals such as wild boars, hares, and civets; wild birds such as wild ducks and pheasants; and amphibious reptiles such as Chinese soft-shell turtles and tortoises.

Many people believe that these game meats have nutritional values ​​far exceeding those of ordinary ingredients. They believe that they are not only more nutritious, but also have magical nourishing and health-preserving effects, and even that they taste more delicious. However, is this cognition scientific? As rumored, do they really surpass everyday meat in terms of nutrient content and composition, and bring unique and irreplaceable benefits to human health? This is not only a dietary topic that consumers are concerned about, but also an important issue related to scientific cognition and ecological protection. Let us unveil this mysterious veil and explore the truth behind it.

Nutritional content: No significant difference between wild and captive animals

From a nutritional perspective, wild game and common meat are rich in nutrients, including protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Common meats such as chicken, beef and pork are the main sources of high-quality protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Taking protein as an example, for every 100 grams of edible part, the protein content of chicken is about 20 grams, beef is about 20.2 grams, and pork (lean) contains about 20.3 grams. These proteins contain various essential amino acids for the human body, and the amino acid composition is close to the needs of the human body, with a high utilization rate. Although the highly sought-after wild animals have a slight advantage in protein content, they do not show significant differences compared with common meats in terms of the balance of the overall amino acid composition and the efficiency of absorption and utilization by the human body.

Take pangolins, bear paws, bats, and pheasants as examples: The main component of pangolin scales is β-keratin, which is essentially the same as the components of our hair and nails; its meat mainly contains protein, fat, and a small amount of minerals, which is not much different from common meat. Although bear paws contain a lot of fat and protein, their nutritional components are similar to those of pig trotters and are nothing special. Bats have no obvious advantages over ordinary meats such as pork, beef, and chicken in terms of protein content, vitamins, and minerals such as vitamin B12, iron, and zinc. Pheasants have certain advantages in terms of high protein content, low fat content, and high trace element content, but other meats such as beef can be substitutes for pheasants and are safer.

Taste sensory: Poultry and livestock are superior

Let's talk about taste. After a long period of breeding, the meat quality, taste and flavor of poultry and livestock have long been carefully sculpted by humans to better suit our taste. Take pigs as an example. Through genetic breeding, people have bred a variety of excellent breeds. Their meat is tender and juicy, and rich in flavor substances. However, wild animals such as pangolins, bear paws, bats, and pheasants not only have a taste that is difficult to compare with poultry and livestock, but also cause serious damage to the ecology due to illegal hunting and consumption.

Safety: Artificial breeding is more reliable

In terms of safety, artificially raised animals have obvious advantages. Today's intelligent breeding technology can monitor the breeding environment and animal health in real time and detect food safety risks in a timely manner. However, wild animals often carry a large number of parasites and unknown viruses, and excessive consumption of "game" will cause irreparable harm to the eater.

Data show that there are more than 100 diseases that wild animals and humans share, such as rabies, tuberculosis, and hepatitis A. Pangolins not only carry a large number of parasites and viruses, but smugglers also give pangolins sedatives and preservatives for transportation and sale, and even inject rice paste, paint, cement, etc. to increase their weight. Bats are natural hosts for many viruses, and their unique immune system enables them to carry viruses without getting sick, but these viruses can cause serious epidemics when transmitted to humans or other animals. The act of hunting wild animals is not only illegal, but also seriously threatens the health of consumers and increases the risk of disease.

According to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of my country, anyone who illegally hunts, kills, or illegally purchases, transports, or sells precious, endangered wild animals under state protection and their products may be sentenced to more than ten years in prison. The nutritional value of wild game is not absolutely higher than that of ordinary food, and although they have a unique taste, the large number of pathogens they carry can easily cause health problems and even large-scale public health incidents. We call on all users to completely put an end to the illegal trade and consumption of wild animals: cherish life and refuse game.

author:

Qu Daofeng is a director of the Zhejiang Science Popularization Federation, a professor at Zhejiang Gongshang University, a doctoral supervisor, deputy director of the Digitalization Office, head of the department of the national first-class major in food quality and safety, a member of the National Technical Committee for Slaughtering and Processing Standardization, an expert of the ISO/TC 34/SC 6 domestic technical counterpart working group, a special invited expert on meat food quality and safety in Zhejiang Province, and a science popularization expert in Hangzhou.