Many generations of Argentines read at school Platero and me. The story of Juan Ramón Jiménez It is part of the endearing school memory. Through the pages of the Nobel Prize in Literature they were accompanied by the little donkey and inseparable friend of a child of their age. And they memorized that it was small, hairy, soft; so soft on the outside, that it seems all cotton, which has no bones. Argentines have just learned that the animal can be integrated into the meager diets of a country in permanent adjustmenthey fall in consumption. Donkey meat has begun to be marketed in the Patagonian province of Chubut. It is distinguished from beef because it is darker, according to the sellers. The initiative came from rural producer Julio Cittadini, and has had the enthusiasm of the authorities. The donkey, he said, can become an alternative with the same cuts that consumers used to buy in times of greater ease in their pockets: vacuum, loin, ribs and entrails, and at less than half the price average that they usually pay in traditional meat versions: 7,500 pesos per kilogram (about 4.6 euros). “In most of those fields that are closed to sheep production, cattle exploitation is not possible because they are not suitable for that. And that is where the donkey emerged as a possibility due to its brave character to maintain itself in the Patagonian steppe.”
The Platero dietas some comedians called it on social networks, has a background that exceeds its four legs. Beef prices increased by 6.9% in March, double that of the inflation. The most popular cuts have had a year-on-year increase of 55%, above the general price index. According to the Chamber of Meat Industry and Commerce (CICCRA), during the first quarter of 2026 512,000 tons were consumed. That represents a 10% drop compared to the same period last year. The 47 kilos per capita in one year is the worst figure since the 90s.
The Social Observatory of the Argentine Catholic University (UCA) reported that 80% of the population has negatively modified their diet. Six out of 10 people skip a meal to reduce costs. Beef, poultry and pork are replaced by products of low nutritional value. A study by the Institute of Statistics and Social and Economic Trends (IETSE) reports a marked undernutrition that compromises “access to proteins and basic vitamins.” There is an “overload of flour, bread and sugar”, with “possible direct effects on health” such as childhood obesitythe diabetes y cardiovascular diseases. “Access to dairy products, lean meats, quality fruits or vegetables has become a privilege for minorities, while the majority adjust their diet to survival.”
The prejudices
In the midst of this decline, the donkey has begun to bray to join the family tables. The experience has been authorized by the Ministry of Production of the far-right Government. “What was put on sale to the public was supposed to last a week and was gone in a day and a half: there was nothing left,” said the producer. It was done in turn a free tasting on a grill. Cittadini assured that the reception was good. He recognized, however, that in a country where roasting is part of the Sunday rituals, the donkey faces an enormous cultural disadvantage, beyond the affection treasured by the poetic prose of Juan Ramón Jiménez. ““It’s a barrier that has to be lifted.”. He already did it. He has been eating that meat for years, as happens in Italia y France. “And not to mention the Chinese. They have specialized refrigerators and sell large quantities.”
The problem of health controls
Nutritionist Lourdes Monaldi maintained that, although this meat would not have a “negative effect” on the stomachs because it has proteins of high biological valuees thin and contains a good amount of hierroserious problems arise for your health check and the eventual authorization of refrigerators in the current conditions of extreme deregulation. The National Agri-Food Health and Quality Service (Senasa) should take action on the matter. The organism has been one of the favorite targets of the “chainsaw” of Javier Miley and his deregulatory minister, Federico Sturzenegger. About 500 people left the workforcemany of them veterinarians and agricultural engineers.
The dismantling of Senasa with the declared purpose of “save on state bureaucracy” has begun to have consequences. China has rejected a shipment of meat from the Buenos Aires meat processing plant Arrebeef due to the deterioration of health controls. Chile has done the same. Authorities from those countries were expected in Buenos Aires to audit the Argentine protocols that, according to the portal, Online Politicsthey run the risk of losing credibility. The Consortium of Argentine Meat Exporters (ABC) has demanded to reinforce the rigor left aside that has been a hallmark of Senasa to sustain international markets.
In this context the donkey has shown its snout. The portal Via Country noted the spontaneous negative reaction of “those who reject its consumption due to the historical link and affectionate with the animal”. Ironies and memes flourish in
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