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Look at this photo of a Kangaroo. Awww, isn't it cute? Here's why you should eat it

Australia is dealing with a kangaroo overpopulation problem — and incredibly, this is the proposed solution.

Faced with the bizarre problem of kangaroo overpopulation, the Australian government has come up with a novel, if not exactly appetizing, solution: asking its citizens to consider eating kangaroo meat.

Over the past few years, the kangaroo population has exploded. Basically, it's gotten more humid and rainy across the continent over the past seven years, which means the plants that kangaroos eat have blossomed in full force, allowing the ‘roos to eat to their heart’s content. More food for kangaroos = more kangaroos reproducing, which means that the kangaroo population has nearly doubled since 2010.

As the country moves towards summer, health officials in the Land Down Under are increasingly worried that a forecasted dry season could lead to a drought, a massive kangaroo starvation epidemic, and wasted kangaroo carcasses littering the country that could otherwise be put to good use grilled with a nice salad.

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While the idea of eating kangaroo meat might sound off-putting, it’s not a terrible idea, from a nutritional and health perspective. Kangaroo meat is actually quite healthy. Unlike standard red meats like beef and lamb, kangaroo meat is considered a lean read meat that is low in saturated fat and high in protein. It's also high in iron and zinc, packing a nutritional punch.

In fact, kangaroo meat is so lean that it clocks in at less than 2% fat. "There is no visible fat on kangaroo meat, and the fat it does have is mostly polyunsaturated,"Kerin O'Dea, a nutrition professor at the University of South Australia, told the country's consumer watchdog group in 2015. "Lamb and beef, on the other hand, are much higher in visible and saturated fat.” (A serving of lamb comes to about 27% fat and 40% of your daily saturated fat content, while beef contains 20% fat and 25% of a daily recommended serving of saturated fat.)

That's not to say that kangaroo meat doesn't have risks. Researchers found that kangaroo meat contains a high amount of L-carnitine, a red meat compound that can encourage arterial plaque leading to heart disease, strokes, and heart attacks.

Despite this, kangaroo meat’s nutritional benefits make it a rising star in the food world. Wellness experts are enamored with the meat, and have kickstarted a dietary trend called kangatarianism, or people whose sole meat consumption is kangaroo because of its environmental and nutritional benefits. Kangaroo has virtually no carbon footprint, releasing next to none of the methane that cows are famous for farting/belching out. Plus, Australia boasts some of the strictest butchering laws in the world, with regulations on how to kill animals humanely and quotas dictating how many animals of each species can be shot and used for meat, hides, or leather.

Regardless of the environmental and health benefits of kangaroo, Australians are understandably queasy about the prospect of eating them. For one thing, some argue that killing them for dinner doesn't actually solve the overpopulation issue. The main reason why Australians are wary to jump on the kangaroo meat train, however, is more psychological: The animal is widely revered as a symbol of Australia, similar to the bald eagle's status in America, and kangaroo and kangaroo-adjacent marsupials like wallabies are considered cute and cuddly. It's similar to how Americans are horrified at the thought of eating horse or dog meat.

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But hey — if you're not too picky about eating cute animals, and you're looking for a nutrient-rich red meat that is dense, buttery, and packed with a dream fat/protein ratio, the kangaroo overpopulation problem might be an ideal solution for you.

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