Eat Kangaroo, Reduce Greenhouse Gases

[Samuel De Mazarin]

BBC NEWS | UK | Eat kangaroo to 'save the planet'

This is particularly interesting because it raises issues not only pertinent to global warming but also regarding which animals are deemed fit to farm and eat.

What say y'all?

[CaptainChick]

I think kangaroos are cute, hmm, I've never eaten a marsupial mammal before, I probably would try it though.

I think eating mammals is kind of wrong, though occasionally I eat them.

Ugh, we should be eating insects, or something.

[Samuel De Mazarin]

^ Good point... I think the incredible amount of insect biomass on our planet is an excellent reason for incorporating their protein-rich bodies into our diet when more traditional agricultural resources are limited or too expensive.

I instinctively feel much more affinity towards a kangaroo or canine or cow than to a chicken... but why prefer a kangaroo over a cow? Tradition?

The argument about how kangaroos are easy to farm and yet produce far less methane and other greenhouse gases than cows is a powerful incentive for die-hard meat-eaters to switch to 'roo meat.

BUT... I don't see it happening any time soon.

[Didums]

They are smaller animals though, you would have to kill more to get the same amount of meat. Also, the Joeys need to stay in their mother's pouch until they are ready to come out on their own, so it might be ineffecient to farm them.

Note: Australia's population is about the same as California's so the effect on Greenhouse Gases won't be that significant :P

Double note: I'm half Aussie.

[Samuel De Mazarin]

Originally Posted by Didums

They are smaller animals though, you would have to kill more to get the same amount of meat. Also, the Joeys need to stay in their mother's pouch until they are ready to come out on their own, so it might be ineffecient to farm them.

Note: Australia's population is about the same as California's so the effect on Greenhouse Gases won't be that significant :P

Double note: I'm half Aussie.

Well, honestly, I'm not too educated on 'roos... but I do know that they don't tend to live past six years of age, whereas cows have lifespans of a bit over ten years. Thus, gestation and maturation periods for 'roos are shorter and more could be harvested to make up for their lesser biomass.

As for the effect of harvesting roo meat, if kangaroo consumption replaced consumption of cattle outside of Australia, the effect on greenhouse gas emissions would be tremendous. My feeling is this is what the fellow in the newstory was hinting at.

But, anyway... I'm not arguing that we start harvesting kangaroos... an Australian scientist is... frankly, I'd prefer not to see kangaroos added to the list of meat-supply animals, because I don't think people will readily give up beef for 'roo-flesh.

[Didums]

Kangaroo meat doesn't taste too good from what my dad tells me lol. Also, I think its a bit of a long-shot to say that switching to 'roo meat is a good option to reduce co2 emissions, there are a myriad of other things that can be done. Cars that aren't atleast 35mpg need to be made illegal asap, we could also always shoot Sulfur into the atmosphere as a short-term fix, and figuring out a way to reduce coal pollution would be awesome (I think I heard about something that captures the released Co2 so that it doesn't get in the atmosphere, but I'm not sure lol).

Still an interesting topic though, I'm curious to see if the Aussies carry through with it lol

[Trinity]

We eat both of our national animals

All things considered the greenhouse gases produced by Oz from cattle is pretty much insignificant. That said I'll do my bit and never eat a cow.

[Victor]

Originally Posted by Trinity

We eat both of our national animals

I occasionally have a kangaroo steak at the Southern Cross Club in Canberra.

It is delicious.

And puts a hop in my step.

[sciski]

Kangaroo doesn't taste too bad - I imagine it might be harder to get kids to eat it due to its gaminess.

Kangaroos are actually amazing reproducers... they can have a weaned joey at their feet, a joey in the pouch and a fertilised egg ready to develop into a joey all at the same time.