RAFAEL JOGLAR, BIOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO:

They are an invasive species in Puerto Rico and we are trying to control that problem. So we can start eating them and we can start hunting them.

JOSÉ JIMÉNEZ, FOUNDER, IGUANEROS DE AGUADA:

Our mission is to defend Puerto Rico’s agriculture, the little this is left, form this iguana epidemic. 

JOSÉ JIMÉNEZ:

As a farmer’s son I’ve seen this take a toll on us. Iguanas quickly eat all of our produce and plants. This affects all of us. Farming is what feeds us. We are eliminating a plague.

RAFAEL JOGLAR: 

We don’t want this to become a crazy war against the green iguanas. We are doing this because of a specific reason, but we should do it with dignity and we should have respect for the animal.

JOSÉ JIMÉNEZ:

We are offering a free service to help protect farmers and their hard work. We are offering this free service to help Puerto Rico’s economy.

RAFAEL JOGLAR:

It’s something very common in the rest of the world. If you have a problem with invasives… Eat them.

CARLOS RODRIGUEZ, ENVIRONMENTAL INTERPRETER, PARA LA NATURALEZA:

In terms of eating it, here in Puerto Rico at least, people don’t like eating reptiles.

RAFAEL JOGLAR:

One thing for our culture its a little bit weird to start eating reptiles and start feeding on reptiles.

CARLOS RODRIGUEZ:

Cause if you go to Panama, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Colombia … It is part of the diet. People tend to eat it. There is a culture for that in Central an South America, but I think it’s something that we can build upon here in Puerto Rico. 

RAFAEL JOGLAR:

We should eat them locally but also we should export them.

ROBERTO HERNÁNDEZ, EXECUTIVE CHEF, MIO RESTAURANT, WASHINGTON, DC:

My name is Roberto Hernández. I am the executive chef at Mio restaurant in Washington, DC and today we are cooking Iguanas. It smelt like fish, it felt like chicken in the hands, but it looked like red meat … So it’s a completely different experience for me as a chef in the kitchen. And all the things that you can do with the Iguana and all the different flavors you can develop … I think it’s a pretty good item in a menu.

RAFAEL JOGLAR:

Iguanas for one thing… It’s very well known, its very documented that iguanas are a very good source of protein.

ROBERTO HERNÁNDEZ: 

Very lean, its very high in protein, but it’s a very low fat meat. Iguana can be prepared fried stewed, we can do Iguana popcorn, grill it, roasted it… its all about the imagination of whoever is doing it. This iguana meat that we are gonna eat today comes from Canóvanas, Puerto Rico. It has all the FDA licenses and all the permits it needs to be exporting this item.

DINER #1:

If I didn’t know it was Iguana i probably wouldn’t have been so skittish but I’m trying it and actually really like it and for me it has more of the consistency of pork.

DINER #2:

Yeah but it’s nice that you can have these different kinds of textures in the same kinds of meats so it gives it different flavors.

DINER #3: 

The stew very good … Fantastic.

DINER #4:

This was a great experience it was beyond what I thought it would be. The meat itself was really, really tender which I didn’t expect at all. 

DINER #5:

The popcorn chicken is delicious. It’s not chicken actually … It’s iguana.

DINER #6:

I really like it and if I can go for seconds …

ROBERTO HERNÁNDEZ:

We need to go through the proper channels to make it into an industry in Puerto Rico.

CARLOS RODRIGUEZ:

The major problem and the reason why the department of health hasn’t approved it is salmonela. The same thing happens with chicken eggs and chicken meat and turkey meat. So that’s something that if you have a series of regulations to keep the meat nice and healthy I don’t see any problem why not. 

ROBERTO HERNÁNDEZ:

If you’ve never had Iguana before, give it a chance and grab a bite.