14 DAY TRIAL // An adviser from the Australian government who is involved in climate change matters asks people to let go of their beef and lamb-based meals and shift to kangaroo meat consumption if they want to help saving the planet.
Economist Ross Garnaut based his 600-page studies on the fact that cattle and sheep have reached worrying numbers and it is known that their flatulence and belching contain methane gas, which damages the environment. On the other hand, kangaroos don't have the same negative effect, since their natural emanations are virtually methane-free. Even more, kangaroo farming costs are way less than those used for cows and sheep. And if that didn't convince you either, then maybe the fact that kangaroos are far more resilient to climate change effects (like the scarcity of water) than their common food-source counterparts will.
Professor Garnaut proposes that the agricultural farming should change, shifting to kangaroo farming; changing eating habits is included in emissions trading design to be implemented by 2010. “For most of Australia's human history - around 60,000 years - kangaroo was the main source of meat. It could again become important,” stated Garnaut. According to his predictions based on an earlier study, cattle and sheep farming will register a decrease by 7 million and 36 million respectively, while farming-produced kangaroo numbers will rise 34 million to 240 million by 2020, more than enough to compensate for the loss of the first two.
This will also prove to be more profitable for farmers, since the smaller number of cows and sheep will allow kangaroo meat prices to get higher. Hopefully, people in Australia will be able to overcome their conception of seeing the kangaroo as the national symbol, only using it for pet food production. Some have already foreseen its potential and were delighted by the taste of the animal's red meat.