Standing in the kitchen of Dai Due restaurant in Austin, the strong smell of cooked pork reaching my nose, I feel uncomfortable. I'm a vegetarian for environmental reasons, and pork was the first meat I stopped eating in over a decade. But here I was about to try it.
Although I'm apprehensive, I know that this isn't just pork: it's javapurcu meat, also known as burcoli or feral pig. This is one of the most destructive invasive animals in the United States. Since they cause so much damage, it is better for the environment to be dead than alive. This means that hunting season in Texas is open year-round, with authorities requiring hunters to kill as many javapore as possible.
Chef and one of Dai Due's owners, Jesse Griffith, who prioritizes local and more sustainable ingredients in his restaurant, typically includes javapurkos on the menu. He is among those who see the slaughter of these animals as an environmental necessity and describes them as an “indisputable” source of protein. “If I had to choose one type of meat, which is the best for consumption, I would not even think: it is javapurcu.”
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