Remember some time ago when we wondered here about eating penguin meat? Turns out it’s illegal and, according to the couple of accounts within easy reach of a Google search, disgusting. But it turns out another animal you’ve probably seen most often in zoos and picture books might actually be a promising new food source, if you can get past the idea of dining on Kanga and/or Roo.
Serious Eats yesterday linked to a BBC story about an Australian scientist making the case for farming kangaroos as a type of environmentally sustainable livestock:
The methane gas produced by sheep and cows through belching and flatulence is more potent than carbon dioxide in the damage it can cause to the environment.
But kangaroos produce virtually no methane because their digestive systems are different.
The scientist, Dr. George Wilson, points out that sheep and cattle account for 11 percent of Australia’s carbon footprint.
MenuPages’ very own Carolina Bolado said she tried the meat once at a game dinner, “served rare, with a mild curry sauce. it was my favorite of the night… gamey, but not tough. Very smooth.”
But some on the Serious Eats comments board seemed creeped out. One commenter said that from an Australian perspective, eating kangaroo would be like, “an American tucking into a nice roast Bald Eagle.” They raised an interesting point, noting that many other meats have names different from the animal (like beef, venison, pork), but kangaroo does not.
Most of the animals we eat regularly don’t appear too often in zoos, books, cartoon shows or as stuffed toys. Since kangaroos do, it may be a tough task to get past the cuteness, mentally. Imagine having to explain to your 5-year-old that the meat on the table comes from the same animals as those beloved Winnie the Pooh characters. But the solution does make a lot of sense, darn it! Sometimes practicality can be a tough sell.
Eat Kangaroo, Save The Earth? [Serious Eats]
Eat kangaroo to ‘save the planet’ [BBC]
[Photos: Fresh pasta with kangaroo and semi-sundried tomatoes via Lachlan Hardy/flickr; Kangaroos via spaceodissey/flickr]
