Eat more kangaroo meat

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Published: 9.13.2017
Level 6   |   Time: 3:05
Accent: Australian
BBC Global News Podcast (9.12.2017)

People in Australia are being urged to eat more kangaroo meat.

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You can download the file [ HERE ].

    

triangle Directions


  1. REVIEW the vocabulary.
  2. LISTEN to the audio.
  3. ANSWER the questions.
  4. CHECK your answers (Show Answers)

triangle Vocabulary


  • Down Under [exp] - slang for Australia
  • cull [v] - kill (to reduce a population)
  • a nation's coat of arms [exp] - the symbol of a country [image]
  • a niche product [n] - a product that only a few people use or like
  • food of last resort [exp] - food eaten when people are starving
  • settlers [n] - the European people who came to Australia 200 years ago
  • red meat [n] - meat like lamb and beef (not chicken or fish)
  • hiccup [n] - a short problem or change
  • humanely [adv] - killed in a way to lessen pain or suffering
  • wild-harvested [adj] - hunted in the wild
  • free range [adj] - animals allowed to walk freely
  • accredited [adj] - officially recognized by the government
  • carcass [n] - a dead body
  • a processing plant [n] - the place where an animal body is turned into meat
  • hygienic conditions [exp] - clean conditions
  • tightly regulated [exp] - carefully controlled by the government
  • sustainable [adj] - able to last/continue forever
  • misshot [adj] - shot (with a gun) incorrectly
  • swiftly [adv] - quickly
  • Bolognese [n] - tomato and meat pasta sauce
  • my sainted mother [exp] - my mother whom I love
  • pan-fried [adj] - fried in oil with a pan
  • Queen's Paste [n] - a type of sauce [image]

[n] - noun,  [v] - verb,  [adj] - adjective,  [adv] - adverb,  [exp] - expression


triangle Questions


  1. How does the human population compare to the kangaroo population in Australia?
    The kangaroo population is much greater than the human population.
    The human population is much greater than the kangaroo population.
    They are about equal.

  2. Which of these three types of meat do Australians eat most?
    kangaroo
    duck
    lamb

  3. Which of these three types of meat do Australians eat least?
    kangaroo
    duck
    lamb

  4. According to the man, where can people buy kangaroo meat?
    in restaurants
    online
    in supermarkets
    on the street

  5. How often did the original European settlers in Australia eat kangaroo meat?
    often
    never
    only when they were starving

  6. How long have aboriginals in Australia been eating kangaroo meat?
    for a few years
    since European settlers arrived
    for 40 000 years

  7. How is kangaroo harvested in Australia?
    Kangaroos are raised on farms.
    Kangaroos are hunted in the wild.
    Kangaroos are taken from zoos.

  8. What are some of the advantages of consuming kangaroo meat?
    It is free of agricultural chemicals.
    It is cheap compared to other meats.
    It is free range.
    It has less fat than other types of meat.

  9. According to the man, who can harvest (hunt) kangaroos?
    anyone
    only adults
    only farmers
    only licensed shooters

  10. What adjectives does the man use to describe the kangaroo meat industry?
    strictly hygienic
    tightly regulated
    humane
    sustainable

  11. What complaint about kangaroo harvesting does the woman mention?
    It is cruel because people shoot kangaroos in the head.
    It is cruel because people shoot kangaroos in the wild.
    It is cruel because kangaroos are often not shot in the head.

  12. How does the man respond to this complaint?
    99.9% of kangaroos are not shot in the head.
    99.9% of kangaroos are raised on farms.
    99.9% of kangaroos are shot in the head.

  13. What do some Australian ecologists say about the kangaroo harvest system?
    It is very cruel.
    It should be stopped.
    It is very environmentally sensible.
    It is very humane.

  14. How does the man like to eat kangaroo meat?
    pan-fried kangaroo
    kangaroo spaghetti
    kangaroo burgers

  15. What sauce does the man suggest for pan-fried kangaroo meat?
    Queen's Paste
    Mexican salsa
    ketchup


triangle Script



And staying down under new figures indicate that the number of kangaroos in the country is now double that of humans. Needless to say it's causing all sorts of problems. Not least, the difficult question of whether it's okay to cull the animal on your nation's coat of arms. Clare Mcdonnel has been speaking to John Kelly from the kangaroo Industry Association of Australia.

Australians eat more kangaroos than they do duck. And there's kangaroo in virtually every supermarket in the country and thousands of restaurants.

But however, it is still a niche product, and it's not consumed to anywhere near the sort of levels of beef or lamb. That's a factor of an historical play I guess. It was always the food of last resort for the settlers to some extent. I'm fond of saying that the kangaroo has been the red meat of choice amongst Australian consumers for the last 40 000 years. And in the last hundred years or so, there's been a bit of a hiccup in its marketing program, and we're starting to turn that around.

Now listen though. You're not encouraging people to go out with a shotgun presumably. You're just encouraging people to buy more kangaroo meat that's been humanely farmed. Is that the way you want things to go?

Kangaroos not farmed it's all wild harvested. That's part of its appeal. It's the ultimate free-range product. There are no agricultural chemicals or drugs. No antibiotics and no stress. The animals are harvested directly from their natural environment by licensed and accredited professional shooters. Their carcass is then taken to a meat processing premises, which is basically exactly the same as a beef or lamb type. Animals come in premurdered. Then they're processed under strict hygienic conditions, and the harvest is tightly regulated to ensure that it is sustainable and humane.

Well I have to put this to you. Many people say that isn't the case and then there are thousands of kangaroos that are misshot every single year because, as you say you know, it's a natural environment but they aren't killed swiftly. And that is very cruel to the animal. What would you say to that?

It's not in fact the case. The kangaroo industry is a very tightly regulated and very tightly researched. There are several studies which have shown that in excess of 99.99 percent of kangaroos are actually shot in the head and killed instantly. And that result is actually better than what happens in beef or lamb slaughter. There is a large number of Australian ecologists and Australian animal welfare experts who believe that the kangaroo harvest system is both environmentally sensible and probably the most animal welfare friendly way there is of producing red meat.

How do you like to eat it?

My favorite thing is just to use it in my dear sainted mother's spaghetti Bolognese recipe. You can do anything with kangaroo which you do with beef or lamb basically. So you can substitute it in essentially any recipe. But, you know, if you are going to pan fry it, the best thing I believe is just a lightly pan fried cut with a little bit of Queen’s Paste on the side.

Australian kangaroo industry expert John Kelly. And if you have any particularly good recipes for kangaroo meat, do send them to us. Global podcast at BBC.co.uk.

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