Reptile farming is well positioned to capitalize on emerging markets. Until recently, reptiles have been somewhat overlooked and undervalued due to colonial legacies and euro-centric agri-food tendencies towards warm-blooded livestock. Reptile products are mostly valued in the Global South where the impacts of climate change are predicted to be acute and the drivers for transformational change are dynamic. Dovetailing a novel agri-food sustainability concept with traditional cultural and culinary values in tropical regions offers unique economic opportunities. That said, future growth will depend on good farming practices and close supervision by veterinary and other authorities. Research on envionmental impacts and broader health implications (e.g., feeding unprocessed animal waste protein to reptile livestock) is essential.
The reptile industry holds substantial growth potential. Established local and international markets exist for meat, skins, pets, and various body parts used in the pharmaceutical industry (e.g. squalene oil). Farmers are typically linked to multiple revenue streams and financial risks are spread across multiple geographies. These economic opportunities are complimented by the ability to scale management inputs and outputs in accordance with adaptive physiologies in order to buffer farmers against the impacts of economic and environmental shocks.
Many reptile production models are expanding via vertical and horizontal integration (i.e., emergence of corporate factory farms). Development approaches that focus purely on economic profitability may compromise the viability of small-scale production models and threaten key animal welfare, environmental, and social sustainability credentials. The loss of democratic food systems presents a risk to regional food security and food sovereignty.