Dr Ross Garnaut, a professor of economics at the Australian National University, has urged Australians to ditch beef and lamb for kangaroo steaks to help save the planet in his recent climate study commissioned by the Australian government.
Sheep and cows account for 11% of Australia’s carbon footprint. The methane gas produced by these livestocks 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 thought of replacing beef and lamb with kangaroo meat might be facing some tough challenge in Australia where the skippy animal is seen as the national icon. Some of the Aussies are already adapting to having kangaroo meat as an exotic food… but it could take a long while for them to adopt the idea of having it as a daily dish.
Some netizens are suggesting that instead of replacing one meat with another, people should be encouraged to simply eat less meat and go for vege… sounds logical enough, but some hardcore meat-eater might find it hard for not having a steak or burger in a day or two.
In Malaysia it’s not uncommon to have deer meat or ostrich meat, but haven’t heard of any restaurants selling kangaroo meat yet. Have you tried any kangaroo dishes?
Hi there Yein Jee,
Just wanted to let you know that Greenpeace isn’t encouraging people to eat kangaroo meat.
The report mentioned in that article you link to was partly funded by us, but authored independently by Dr Diesendorf. His report focused mainly on renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean transport, but also mentioned reducing beef consumption and possibly switching to kangaroo.
The suggestion re kangaroo was picked up by some media and it was reported that “Greenpeace is urging kangaroo consumption to fight global warming”. It’s not the case, though. Not all of the measures in the report are Greenpeace policy and Greenpeace does not advocate eating kangaroo meat. We champion the renewable energy solutions to catastrophic climate change:
http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/issues/climate-change
All the best,
Isobel @ Greenpeace
Thanks for the note Isobel. I’ve taken out the particular link and statement to avoid further confusion.
awww…but kangaroos are so cute, lol.
(reminds me of the dog-eating issue in korea/china).
i guess i’d still be interested in trying it if i could, but i wouldn’t make it a regular dish, even if i was an aussie.
kangaroos are special, lol.
(i sound biased, don’t i? =DD)
Eating kangaroo may have a long road to acceptance. I’d rather see people eating greater amounts of seafood. Bovine methane levels would decrease. Nations relying on seafood-heavy diets would be more prone to taking care of our oceans.
next life he ‘ll come as a kangaroo!vegetarismis the only way to save this planet!!!!!create gd karma n be compassionate. there is too much killing, animals is like u n me only different in shape n sizes.Reflex !why is there so much disaster.
bb… you sound ironic :p
Dave… I think there are issues with over-fishing as well. It could help if seafood farming is being encouraged… I prefer seafood over steak anytime, but a good fillet often cost more than a good steak here.
i live in australia and i’ve had kangaroo meat, it tastes a bit like beef and its rather good to be honest. what about the farming of rabbits? rabbit meat is one of the best in my opinion.
Rabbits produce methane just like the cows and sheep.
Tasted rabbit once… quite yummy, but doesn’t really want to make it a frequent option yet. It’s sort of a mental block.
i would never eat a rabbit. my dad made a once but i didn’t touched it. i’ve seen how their killed in a video…it’s was so sad and brutal.
all living things when killed is brutal…i can never imagine eating a kangaroo…
i ate crocodile meat before, ostrich meat too, but not yet kangaroo meat :p