Do Australians really eat kangaroo

Not all Australians can quite bring themselves to eat kangaroo. Some Australians do eat kangaroo meat, but many think about an innocent kangaroo bounding free, and they can't bring themselves to eat something like that.

Nonetheless, the benefits are:

• kangaroo meat is very lean, being low in cholesterol and with less than 2% fat
• kangaroo meat is high in protein and minerals, especially iron and zinc
• studies indicate that people who eat kangaroo meat in place of "normal" red meat have lower risk of damage to their cardiovascular system
• kangaroos are plentiful on the Australian continent, so the decision has been made that they might as well be farmed commercially
• it is commercially viable: the European market for kangaroo meat increased by 30 percent following the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease on that continent - so it is not just Australian who eat kangaroo.

Another health benefit:

Australia's chief Scientific body, the CSIRO, has determined that kangaroo meat could well be the highest known source of the healthy fat CLA (conjugated linoleic acid). Whilst CLA is found in dairy, beef and lamb products, the CLA found in kangaroo meat may be as much as five times as great. Research indicates that CLA has potential anti-cancer and anti-Diabetes properties, as well as helping reduce the incidence of obesity and high blood pressure.

Many people think the edible animals are limited to a few types of birds, cattle, swine and sheep. Some Australians eat kangaroo. The Japanese and Inuit eat whale. In Canada seals, bison, moose, elk and deer appear on the menu. Other locations in North America feature game animals as diverse as raccoon, 'possum, musk rat, bear, squirrel, rabbit. In Europe horse is available. In Asia many more exotic animals such as dog are eaten.

In all these cases the animals are eaten for the same reasons:

• It is culturally permissible to eat them
• They are available
• They taste good (at least to some people)

Indeed: why shouldn't Australians eat kangaroo?