Anyone who says the U.S. economy has lost its vim and vision doesn't know a thing about ostriches.
The lanky birds with Barbara Bush eyes have set off a speculative boom. Lawyers, real estate agents, antique dealers: all are plunking down as much as $40,000 for a pair of the flightless birds, convinced that on a Thanksgiving not too far off, their fellow Americans will be carving ostrich legs.
"It's the meat of the 21st century," said Chuck Ball, executive director of the American Ostrich Association in Fort Worth, Texas. "Every day more people are learning that ostrich makes good eating and a great investment."
Just seven years ago, a few dozen people in the United States were raising a few hundred ostriches; today, the American Ostrich Association has 3,600 members and there are anywhere from 60,000 to 100,000 birds in the country. Mr. Ball said his group is adding 70 members a month.
They are investing tens of millions of dollars, opening ostrich ranches, forming ostrich partnerships and buying into ostrich mutual funds -- even though the only demonstrated demand for ostrich meat comes from a few exotic restaurants, the kind that ** serve rattlesnake and wild boar.
"Getting in on the ground floor means taking a leap of faith," said David Stocking of Joliet, Ill., who quit his job as an accountant in April to open an ostrich ranch with his wife, Sherry. "People say I have my head in the sand, but I'll be laughing last and best."
Not everybody is laughing. A Florida outfit called U.S. Ostrich Corp. was shut down this year after it was accused of bilking 1,300 investors out of $3 million. Investigations by the State Securities Board of Texas recently led to the indictments of two concerns for fraud after they collected $174,000 from retirees by promising them big money in the ostrich business.
"Every time a product seems hot, the con artists move in to prey on people's greed," said Stephan Hodge, the Indiana securities commissioner, who has shut down eight ostrich scams in his state. "When you tell people they're going to make 200 or 300 percent, a lot of them are going to take the bait no matter how fishy it smells."
Just how the 8-foot-tall birds from Africa became promises of the American Dream has a lot to do with cows. Since the word went out about those artery cloggers, investors have developed lucrative and volatile markets in various low-fat meats like
buffalo, venison, alligator and even kangaroo.
