15 Jul 2025 The sustainability of ostriches

The Klein Karoo used to be famous for its fabulous ostrich feather industry, which aeons ago died a sad death as fashions in Edwardian Europe changed. Feathers, it turned out, aren’t forever, but ostriches themselves, surely are….

Your editor is a fan of Ghost Mail, a savvy SA financial newsletter and website, and which is home to wonderful essays penned by Dominque Olivier, who uncovers the back story to an array of interesting people and things… she recently turned her attention to SA’s ostrich industry, and birds that boast significant sustainability colours.

Protein rather than plumes

In 2023, humanity ate roughly 140 million tons of poultry worldwide. That’s billions of chickens, turkeys and ducks, devoured in curries, nuggets, and Sunday roasts. Poultry now officially rules the meat-eating world, with pork in second place, and beef and veal somewhere further down the buffet table.

While most of us appreciate a good roast, we don’t really love our planet getting roasted in the process. The unfortunate truth is that meat production is a heavyweight in the climate change arena, with beef wearing the champion’s belt for most greenhouse gas emissions per bite. Add deforestation, water use, and a side of ethical anxiety, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a global rethink.

By 2040, it’s projected that 60% of all “meat” consumed will be vegetable-based, lab-grown, or something science hasn’t branded yet, while traditional meat will drop to just 40% of global consumption. Projections certainly aren’t facts, but that’s still a significant shift to consider. 

Still, not all traditional meat sources are created equal, especially when it comes to efficiency. Chickens and pigs, for example, produce multiple offspring per breeding season. A single sow can produce as many as 20 piglets a year, while a commercial hen can lay over 300 eggs per breeding season. Meanwhile, your average cow is producing one calf a year, and maybe twins if the stars align.

More animals in a shorter timespan gives pig and poultry producers more data to work with, which means more control over feed, breeding, and genetic optimisation. In the past few decades, this is exactly how they’ve supercharged feed efficiency and meat yield, while lowering production costs and resource use.

It’s also no accident that poultry is outpacing pork in global growth. In many regions, pork is off the menu for religious or cultural reasons, making chicken the default choice. But what if there was another option? One that worked for pork and beef-free populations, sipped water like a minimalist, and came with built-in climate creds?

You guessed correctly. It’s the ostrich. 

Ostriches are quietly making a case for being the next big thing in sustainable meat. First off, they need about a third of the water that cattle do to produce the same amount of meat. They also need less space and less feed, and they are incredibly efficient at converting feed into bodyweight. They hit slaughter weight (around 90kg) in just 10 to 12 months, and reach breeding age at around 2 to 3 years. For context, cattle farmers require two years minimum just to raise one slaughter-ready animal. 

The numbers do the talking. One ostrich yields around 27kg of meat after slaughter – a far cry from the 250kg you’ll get from a full-grown cow. But here’s where things get interesting: a cow produces just one calf per year, while a single ostrich can lay between 40 and 100 eggs in the same timeframe. So that’s 27kg of meat from the bird itself, plus up to 2,700kg from its combined offspring.

And because ostriches grow faster and reach slaughter weight in under a year, those chicks will have grown up and hit the processing line in half the time it will take that cow’s lone calf. 

Nutritionally, ostrich meat is also superior. It’s got the protein punch and a similar enough flavour and texture to beef but significantly less fat. It’s ideal for those trying to reduce their red meat intake without giving it up entirely, or for communities that need a non-pork protein source with legit sustainability credentials.

So, while cows continue their slow, methane-heavy waddle into the future, the ostrich might just be sprinting ahead. It’s fast. It’s efficient. It’s resource-light. And most importantly, it doesn’t require us to invent an expensive lab-grown alternative to red meat. 

The ostrich barons of the future

Does that mean that South Africa is on the cusp of a second big bird boom? You would think so, having read this far.

On paper, ostrich ticks all of the boxes for the meat of the future, and South Africa produces a lot of ostriches – 140,000 of them in 2024. What’s more, we produce some pretty good ostriches too.

The Western Cape government owns the first dedicated ostrich research facility in the world. Since the 1970s, the province’s department of agriculture has been quietly running the show, digging into everything from genetics to production to feather quality, all in support of South Africa’s signature bird.

It started with a prestige breeding flock built from top-tier genetic stock donated by local farmers. The deal was that the department would maintain and improve the flock, and in return, the broader industry would benefit. Each year, offspring from this elite group are sold back to farmers, giving them direct access to the fruits of years of research, selective breeding and genetic gains. 

But we’re not the only ones in the game. These days, you can find ostrich farms on almost every continent, and in countries and regions where you would never expect to see a big, flightless bird – China, Brazil, Israel, North and South America. Even parts of Europe are catching ostrich farm fever.

Production is ramping up in order to meet the growing demand for ostrich leather and feather products, which are making a bit of a comeback in fashionable circles.

My guess, however, is that the real money is to be made in ostrich meat. Once the “exotic meat” angle wears off and Big Ostrich manages to land their sustainability talking points with a sustainably-minded consumer audience (Gen Z, anyone?), I reckon property prices in Oudtshoorn are ready to fly – even if the birds can’t…..

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