• badlotus@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Guinea pigs were bred as livestock by the Inca in South America. They used to be a dish reserved for nobility but now us plebs have access to Cuy in the supermarket. 😃

    • Thorned_Rose@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Some people still do raise them for food 🙂

      When you’ve got not fridge and the environment isn’t always condusive to curing and preserving meat, it’s very handy to raise an animal that’s a smaller amount of meat (say one meal) than something like a goat, pig, chicken or cow.

      They breed easily and rapidly, eat scraps and vegetation that humans normally don’t. So folks keep a herd of Guinea pigs and just slaughter whatever they need for a meal.

      It’s very clever and much more environmentally friendly than clearing forest for larger animals.