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More About Alligator
Bob's
Premium Meat Snacks
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From
Florida
Farm-Raised
Alligator
The Sunshine State's Other Home-Grown
Health Food
 They
don't grow on trees, but they do breed and live among them.
And through the ages, these "amphibious" reptiles
have been as closely associated with The Sunshine State as
our world-famous citrus and powder-white beaches.
Alligators. They've received a bad rap. Because contrary to
popular folklore, it is they who for centuries have provided
people with a succulent, healthy protein meat source. From
the ancient indigenous tribes of southeastern North America,
to today's health-conscious diner, alligator has played an
important dietary role in our nation's history. And it's growing.
A
5OO-Year Popularity
Five centuries
ago, the early Spanish explorers who discovered the Americas
were introduced to huge reptiles that they promptly christened
El lagarto. They encountered them at every watering hole,
river crossing and moss-draped swamp. And while they feared
them, they also hunted them after discovering that el lagarto
slow-roasted over smouldering hardwood fires was mighty good
eatin'.
They really started something because the tradition prevailed.
As the early pioneers began settling and homesteading the
most southern parts of the Southeastern United States, the
easily-available "Gator Tail" became a meat staple
for many wilderness families.
Popularity
Breeds Scarcity
 As
with most cases of supply and demand, "gator tail"
today is far more difficult to come by. Sought after throughout
the world, noted American European and Asian chefs pay premium
prices for the privilege of serving the delicious, low-fat,
low-cholesterol white meat in their restaurants frequented
by the rich and famous.
State
and federal regulations limit the harvest of wild alligators
to "sustainable use:' Added to harvests at around two
hundred alligator farms throughout the southeastern United
States, this yields only about 1.8 million pounds of alligator
meat annually, which is supplied to the domestic and international
markets. Compared to the enormous annual production of beef,
pork and poultry products, that's just a ripple in the river.
So it's no wonder that ~c demand continues to exceed supply.
Enter
Alligator Bob
 In
1990, lifelong Florida --- alligator trapper Robert "Alligator
Bob" Young realized that many visitors to the South left
without an opportunity to taste Florida's other natural food
resource. And they certainly weren't at that time able to
have it picked, packed and shipped home for friends to share
the experience. So he embarked upon a wild adventure to change
all that by developing an alligator meat product that was
portable, snackable, presentable and shelf stable; one that
was also delicious enough to be labelled a "Unique, Edible
Florida Souvenir."
In 1994, Alligator Bob's Gourmet Alligator Meat Snacks were
born" And the rest, as they say, is history.
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