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Feb 6, 2009 07:30 PM | 16
There's a new kind of meat that's getting a lot buzz Down Under these days. Word is it's better for the planet. Or at least that's what scientists argue in a paper published in the journal Conservation Letters. Instead of feasting on the meat hacked out of "introduced ruminants" (read: cows and sheep), Australians should be enjoying the high-protein, low cholesterol steaks carved out of kangaroos.
No need to worry that the hopping marsupials are endangered, actually they're thriving out of control in some places, say researchers, thanks to the same grassland rid of trees and other vegetation to make pasture for cattle. More importantly, the jumpers don't belch or give off as much gas as cows do, because of bacteria in their stomachs that aid the digestion of grass (savvy Australian researchers are working on transferring said bacteria to cattle even as I write).
"Methane from the fore gut of cattle and sheep constitutes 11 percent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions," wrote study authors George Wilson and Melanie Edwards of Australian Wildlife Services last July. "Kangaroos, on the other hand… produce negligible amounts of methane." The switchover would also offer benefits in soil conservation (no more hooves).
The real questions are: taste and quantity. Even the biggest kangaroo doesn't produce nearly the amount of meat that comes off a cow and some argue that its meat is gamier. But Wilson and Edwards counter that much of the rangeland currently given over to cattle could be better served raising kangaroos. And that's a way of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from meat-eating, at least Down Under.
Credit: © iStockphoto.com/James Thew
Tags:
cows,
atmospheric gases,
climate change,
meat,
methane,
gas,
kangaroo,
farts,
burps,
global warming
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16 Comments
Add CommentI'm all for eating human flesh. Nothing marbles as nice as a flank steak from a couch potato. What, it's all meat in the end, isn't it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiscannibalism in mammals leads to a lot of sicknesses
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thislook at madcow disease, what has better nutrition for a cow than cow meat
if you eat human meat you could get a disease called kuru which is very similar to madcow
There is a good market here in the U.S. for deer and bison meat, why not add kangaroo to the table. they are a good source of nutrition, and opens up a new export for Aussie's. I think that kangaroo meat would be well received here. I know that I would like to get some. I have tried kangaroo jerkey, and liked it, (I know that jerkey is not a true test of the flavor of meat), but as this article says, I would like to try a roo steak on the barbie...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCannibalism in the same species isn't actually a terrible idea. The problem is being smart about it. Mad Cow disease, kuru, and chronic wasting disease (in cervids) are all originally caused by the ingestion of the central nervous system tissue. So, if you avoid the brain and spinal column, meat is just meat, no matter the source.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFunny, I thought this article was about kangaroos and their potential for meat. Not about cannibalism. Let's leave that to the "Donner Party".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSoylent Green is made of people!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this:P
Briseis2008 is right. Mad Cow Disease didn't happen because they fed cows to other cows, it was because they ground them up, BRAINS and all and fed that to them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Kulu" was observed in humans in a primitive tribe who would eat the brains of their enemies.
I'm from San Francisco but I live in Melbourne, Australia. Since coming here I've become a huge fan of kangaroo meat, mostly for its taste, but also because its more environmentally friendly. The meat is excellent, a cross between duck and beef. It is best cooked rare to medium rare or it becomes a bit gamy. I usually cook it either as a steak, or in strips in an Asian style stir fry, marinated in chili and garlic. Awesome stuff.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKangaroo mince is great for lasagne's
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis headline is just wrong alongside the headlines about the fires right now. What timing.....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLOL
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thislol
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thismsaletta, I agree! I heard that once MacDonalds were fraudently supplied roo mince in place of the beef type. All agreed that they were the best ever!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy not a selection?.Hi from Murray Bridge, SA
Thats what I thought. maybe they'll change it if we put enough comments here.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe they'll change it if we all comment on it- so come on, have your say. People in Melbourne read the magazine too.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere are no more cannibales left on Scientific American websites : I ate the last one half an hour ago!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut I do take the idea of eating roos very seriously : Beef and mutton are not only terribly polluting from their methane output, but also disatrous for the World's 960,000,000 starving as they absorb vast quantities of essential cereals...