| Sunday, August 10, 2008 |
| Eating Skippy |
The BBC had an article yesterday about the merits of eating kangaroo meat as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
I'm not sure if I buy that angle, but I can tell you, that kangaroo meat is yummy and should be eaten and farmed. I spent nearly a month in the remote Outback of Queensland about 15 years ago, as part of a scientific research project examining the reproductive systems of red kangaroos. I got the gig courtesy of Dr. E., my college roommate, who is now a research scientist working for the US Geological Survey group out in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Those were the good old days before digital photography, so my photos from the adventure are in a photo album (remember those?), instead of my hard drive, but I have some great photos of us grilling, and eating, kangaroo (and wild rabbits, and emu, etc.).
It's very lean, and has it's own flavor, not unlike venison, but certainly not gamey at all.
While the merits of eating kangaroos are many, there are still cultural barriers in Australia to eating what amounts to their national symbol. The kangaroo holds a unique spot in Australian culture. Worshipped by the aboriginal people, and valued by them as a food source, they are also considered a pest in the Outback by ranchers and farmers competing for valuable grassland for grazing cattle and sheep. The small settlement near the national park where we lived and worked for three weeks, owed its existence to "roo shooters". Guys who make their living culling kangaroos from farmlands. Most, if not all, of that meat ends up as dog food or rots. It's not used for human consumption. They do use the hides, but not the meat. Go figure. |
posted by Broadsheet @ 11:06 AM   |
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| 1 Editorial Opinions: |
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Actually, red kangaroos rarely compete with sheep for food as they eat different things and have different strategies when there is drought.
--"dr. e."
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Actually, red kangaroos rarely compete with sheep for food as they eat different things and have different strategies when there is drought.
--"dr. e."