An Analysis of the Utility of the Black Cavy as Food and the Development Prospects of the Farming Industry

Green agriculture refers to a mode of agricultural production and operation centered on producing, processing, and selling green food. Green food refers to pollution-free, safe, high-quality, nutritious food that follows the principle of sustainable development, is produced in a specific manner, is certified by a specialized agency, and is permitted to bear the green label. Actively developing green agriculture and adhering to the concept of sustainable development has become a global strategic measure for meeting international challenges.

Developing green agriculture is a requirement of adhering to sustainable development and protecting the environment. Compared with green agriculture, "black agriculture" often relies heavily on large farm machinery, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, which not only consumes large amounts of non-renewable energy but also causes such harmful consequences as soil erosion and air and water pollution. Developing green agriculture, however, can fundamentally solve these problems. With "green environment," "green technology," and "green products" as its core, green agriculture promotes the transformation of chemical agriculture, which relies excessively on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, into ecological agriculture, which relies mainly on the internal mechanisms of organisms.

The black cavy was originally called the cavy; it is a small, grain-saving herbivorous animal with extremely strong reproductive capacity. Black cavy meat is fresh and tender, delicious and tasty, crisp and pleasing to the palate, with no gamy or rank odor. It belongs to the low-fat, low-cholesterol category of meat and is a premium tonic among black foods, with a very strong game-meat character. Its fur is also an excellent raw material for processing fur clothing and craft ornaments, and its testicles, gallbladder, and blood are raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry.

The black cavy is black all over and has an extremely high melanin content, with both medicinal and food applications. It can eliminate free radicals in the human body, lower blood lipids, support yang function, and relieve stomach ailments, and it has a clear dietary-therapy effect on hypertension and coronary heart disease. It is regarded among the people as a "treasure for strengthening the body."

The Chinese black cavy is a precious herbivorous animal that combines game meat, medicinal value, food value, fur, ornamental value, and nourishing properties in one. Its meat is delicious and highly nutritious. According to testing by relevant experts, black cavy meat is a high-protein, low-fat, low-cholesterol food, rich in the seventeen amino acids and various trace elements needed by the human body, especially rich in the anti-cancer elements zinc and selenium and in melanin, which has a bidirectional regulating function for the human body. It has such effects as nourishing yang and promoting fluid production, detoxifying and regulating qi, beautifying and enhancing intelligence, invigorating blood and unblocking meridians, anti-aging and complexion-nourishing, and anti-cancer and cancer-preventing, and it has a very good conditioning function for hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and other conditions in middle-aged and elderly people.

Black cavies are easy to raise, low in cost, and fast to breed, making them very suitable for rural household farming. The black cavy is a typical small herbivorous livestock animal and does not compete with humans or livestock for grain. Various wild grasses, tree leaves, vegetable leaves, stalks, sugarcane leaves, and dry rice straw are all high-quality feed for it. Raising black cavies can make full use of China's abundant resources of these kinds, enabling farmers to obtain relatively good economic returns and high-grade natural black nutritional tonics with a game-meat character in a short time. Raising 5 to 10 pairs in spare time does not affect production or work. They can be raised in idle rooms, under staircases, on balconies, and similar places using 30 cm-high wooden boxes, bamboo cages, or brick pools, and they are clean, hygienic, and pollution-free. More than 10 can be raised per sq m. Each female cavy can produce 4 to 6 litters per year, with 2 to 8 young per litter, and can reproduce about 30 young per year in a cycle. Raising one pair of black cavies yields an annual income of about 400-500 yuan. Black cavies have strong disease resistance and no threat of plague diseases. Under normal farming conditions, no injections or medication are needed, and the farming conditions and technical requirements are simple. They are very suitable for urban and rural households to develop and raise, and are a good project for rapidly escaping poverty and becoming wealthy.

With the improvement of people's living standards, pursuing deliciousness, nutrition, health benefits, and a return to nature has become a new fashion for modern people. As a black cavy with a strong game-meat character, complete nutrition, and high dietary-therapy efficacy precisely caters to people's pursuits, eating black cavy is bound to become a new favorite on people's dining tables.