Kangaroo in Bush

Game Meat and our Environment

Game Meat: the pinnacle of ethical consumption

  

Wild game meat sounds like exactly what it is: game meats like deer, kangaroo and rabbit which aren’t farmed the way traditional meats like beef and lamb are. Game meats represent what our ancestors centuries ago would hunt and eat, especially foods like kangaroo here in Australia. Game meat is contended as a suitable option for the modern shopper due to the unusual way it comes onto our shelves: no paddocks that farmers monitor, no growth hormones, no animal husbandry. It is the peak of clean eating, the story they sing in Lion King. Not only is it a healthier, and often cheaper, option, but it’s great for our environment. 

  
Protects our ecosystem

Consuming game animals helps restore balance to our ecosystems. Specifically, culling and eating rabbits as an introduced species and kangaroos which, when overpopulated, become pests to farmers in Australia. Both of these species can impact food availability for other wild animals, destroy ecosystems by overfeeding and introducing disease, plus the way they disrupt Australian farms and farm infrastructure. Rabbits are notorious for their quick breeding, which can disrupt the environmental balance due to overpopulation. Kangaroos, similarly, have boomed in population due to human’s culling of their natural predators, which causes them to infiltrate unsuitable environments and disrupt farmers. This is why ecologists, among others, encourage the eating of wild animals.   




Reduce harmful chemical introductions to the environment

Another benefit to eating game meat is the reduction of mass agriculture production. With less demand on the market for classic meat like beef and pork, there will be a reduction in methane production from livestock waste. 

 There is a risk, however, of methane production if the animal is not properly used. Discarding the carcass and leaving it to rot can have a negative impact on our environment. In our Bella and Boots blog this week we discussed the nose-to-tail method and how important it is to reduce meat waste, as food waste gone into landfill increases methane production and breeds diseases like E. Coli. 

If we cull these game animals and don’t use the meat (the way our ancestors would have, in the beginning) we introduce unnecessary risk to our other wildlife. 

Mindfulness is ethical practice

As culling is an ethical issue, one of the most important steps is not letting the animal’s death go to waste. Using the meat to eat is an important ethical step in the process of culling pest animals like kangaroos and rabbits. It is a waste of life to let the carcasses rot without using the nutrients (and yummy flavour!) to nourish our bodies.  


Just like grass-fed meat, eating meat that derives its food source from the Earth naturally has higher nutrients and vitamins. Not only is eating wild game meats better for our Earth and our native animals but also ourselves. 

As with every kind of meat consumption, mindfulness is vital to an ethical lifestyle. Knowing where your food comes from, what impact it has on your environment, your body and the life and suffering  (or non-suffering) of the animal you’re eating, is the peak of ethical consumption. 


                                  

To see how game meat can fit into your favourite dinners, check out our latest recipe which harnesses the rich, natural flavour of Kangaroo to make an easy and nutritious dish everyone can enjoy!