Why Eat Rabbit ?
There are plenty of other “normal” things I can eat ? …..
Rabbits were as normal as chicken or a homegrown pork for dinner until the 50′s. Most people born before 1955 and especially alive during the depression… were fed rabbits as a supplemental protein source during those “lean” years. Little did they realize, or maybe they did… That this quality meat was not only inexpensive, easy to raise and easily managed on a small farm and was included as a Victory Garden protein source; It was nutritionally SUPER for them and their growing children! Even the USDA encouraged their consumption… What changed?
Big AGRA !! With all the money going to Big Agra, who wanted maximum profits with the cheapest bottom line using the majority of government endorsed chemicals and handouts… Rabbits didn’t make sense. So the concept was scrapped and called Old-fashioned. Something no one of the era wanted to be!
Well… why eat rabbit now?
Well, here’s just a few other reasons why rabbit should be considered as a supplement, at the very least, to anyone’s diet ! Besides being great tasting and ecologically superior to other meats…..
My Research shows:
Rabbit meat has been recommended for special diets such as for heart disease patients, diets for the elderly whose metabolism has slowed and digestion is compromised due to illness or life stage, low sodium diets, and weight reduction diets. Because it is easily digested, it has been recommended by doctors for patients who have trouble eating other meats.
As the world’s human population grows there will be less land to raise food. The rabbit will play a more increasing role in this supply. It is a sustainable, wholesome food that does not tax the land they are raised on.
Rabbits are raised up off the ground and are one of the cleanest animals produced as meat. Due to being raised off the ground, rabbits do not even need to be wormed, thus an addition medication scratched from the “necessary” list!
Rabbits do not need medications to stay healthy! Many large rabbitries administer a prophylactic dose of antibiotics, as noted in several how to books on rabbit raising. I have raised the current herd I have for 4 years without any antibiotics at all! If one of the rabbits falls ill, necessitating antibiotics, they are culled before the illness becomes a problem. It is a harsh method, but a sane one from an exposure to illness and medication standpoint.
Rabbits are among the most productive of domestic livestock. Making them efficient sources of food for an ever increasing population with diminishing resources.*Rabbits will produce 6 pounds of meat on the same feed and water as a cow will produce 1 pound of meat on the same feed and water.
The food sources for a healthy, productive rabbit can be wide ranging. Rabbits are raised across the world as efficient recyclers of green matter and contributors of prized fertilizer to apply to gardens, furthering their value as a wise, nutritious food source.
Click through our Health Benefits of including rabbit in your diet page on our site, Rabbit is something worthy of being added to you healthy, eco-friendly diet!
The office of Home Economics, states agencies of the U S Department of Agriculture have made extensive test and have stated that domestic rabbit meat is the most nutritious meat known to man.
Excerpt from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit
“ Rabbit meat is a source of high quality protein. It can be used in most ways chicken meat is used. In fact, well-known chef Mark Bittman says that domesticated rabbit tastes like chicken because both are blank palettes upon which any desired flavors can be layered.
Rabbit meat is leaner than beef, pork, and chicken meat. Rabbit products are generally labeled in three ways, the first being Fryer. This is a young rabbit between 1½ and 3½ pounds and up to 12 weeks in age. This type of meat is tender and fine grained.
The next product is a Roaster; they are usually over 4 pounds and up to 8 months in age. The flesh is firm and coarse grained and slightly less tender than a fryer.
Then there are giblets which include the liver and heart. “
Most commercial rabbits are packaged without rabbit giblets…