Nutritional values
of game meat
Let’s start from the beginning. What does sustainability mean? This word derives from the Latin verb “sustĭnĕo, sustinēre,” which means to support, help, but also to nourish, feed, and prolong over time. And here lies the key to the concept: time. Sustainability means ensuring that the needs of the present generation are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. Produce and Preserve.
Today we reveal that even you, some perhaps without even realizing it, while enjoying a venison tartare or a good wild boar sauce, have adopted a sustainable behavior.
In fact, our food system is unfortunately the main culprit of climate change, from CO2 production to the phenomenon of food waste, and the choices we make at the table not only can make a difference, but they do. Game meat is one of these choices.
This excellent raw material is not only healthy but also versatile, suitable for various preparations, and naturally combats food waste because almost every part of the game can be enjoyed. Moreover, its rarity compared to conventional meat helps reduce the annual meat consumption of each individual.
Here are some main reasons why game meat is sustainable:
Wild animals, given their wide geographical distribution, type of habitat, and foraging habits, move over many kilometers: this leads to the development, oxygenation, and leanness of their muscular system. Their meat is called “dark meat” (INRAN, National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition): this is due to the richness of iron, an essential element for binding oxygen and therefore crucial for movement.
The meat of wild animals has unique nutritional qualities that make it a healthy food, rich in proteins, essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, and especially very lean with low cholesterol levels. The fat content of game meat averages between 2% (0.6-2.6% in cervids) and 5% (3.5-5.2% in wild boars), while the caloric intake is around 110 to 120 kilocalories.
In the human diet, meat is seen as the main source of fats, especially saturated fatty acids, which are implicated in many diseases typical of Western society. The World Health Organization recommends that daily fat intake be less than 30% of total energy intake and that saturated fats be limited to 10%. Due to the risks associated with fat intake from red meat, consumer trends are shifting towards an increased demand for lean meats.
Game meat contains 50-80% less fat than red meats. Meat obtained from wild animals kept in farming conditions has shown that the administered diet significantly increased fat content and decreased the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fats. A study on wild deer showed that within their lean meat, the fat composition had a high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids, a high ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated acids, and a low ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids.
Wild boar meat has an omega-6/omega-3 ratio between 6 and 8, significantly better than pork. Similar to other monogastric animals, the fatty acid composition of wild boar meat depends on the diet. In nature, wild boars eat a wide variety of native plants, herbs, seeds, roots, fruits, insects, earthworms, snails, small mammals, and carrion. This type of diet ensures that the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids in wild boar meat is above the minimum (0.4) recommended by the British Department of Health to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in humans.
A high concentration of vitamin E in the meat of these animals contributes to the increased shelf-life of their meat due to its antioxidant power, essential for meat stability.
Therefore, it is desirable to increase the consumption of these alternative meats for their evident health benefits and in light of their increased availability.
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