Since I left Thailand, lots of things have happened. Citizen protests have errupted in in Bangkok, violence and gunfire has spread along the Thai/Cambodian border, and elsewhere in the Asia/Oceana region, an Australian government advisor has recommended that citizens cut carbon fast... by switching their burgers for kangaroo chops.

Like the elephant in Thailand, the Kangaroo is a national symbol in Australia, appearing on the coat of arms, the dollar coin, and as a star in popular TV shows. Apparently, now it just may begin to resurface on the dinner plate.

I understand where the suggestion comes from: Methane from Aussie cattle and sheep makes up 11 percent of Australia's greenhouse emissions, and for those that can't give up dark meat it might be a palatable trade as the country tries to tighten the belt and slow contributions to global warming... but really... kangaroos? Can you really eat your national symbol? Can you really eat something so cute? And more importantly can you sustainably maintain a species while exploiting it?

34 million wild kangaroos currently live in Australia. There are certainly enough to capture, domesticate, and breed. But if history serves as a guide... humans aren't so good at leaving thriving wild populations of domesticated animals linked to profit. See: Wild horses, wild dogs, wild elephants, wild cats, wild cow-type-animals... do I need to go on?

I guess my point is... I'm still on the fence as to whether it is possible to have sustainable animal tourism, but when it comes to mass marketing kangaroo as the next big "low carbon red meat"... I just don't see the point. It might just be one more of those lobbyist backed decisions that involves jumping out of one boiling pot and into another that's just starting to warm up. It would make more sense to jump off the stove... don't you think?

Full disclosure: I'm totally biased in this discussion. When I was 12 I stopped eating beef because my favorite stuffed animal was a cow and I thought that consuming MooCow's antecedents was too mentally disturbing to handle.