page_title: Kangaroo meat
section_title: Nutrition and products
hierarchical_section_title: Kangaroo meat / Nutrition and products
caption_attribution_description: Smoked kangaroo jerky at a store in&#160;Richfield, Wisconsin, United States
context_page_description: Kangaroo meat is mostly produced in Australia from wild kangaroos and in 2010 was exported to over 55 countries worldwide.
context_section_description: The kangaroo has been historically a staple source of protein for indigenous Australians. Kangaroo meat is high in protein and low in fat (about 2%). Kangaroo meat has a very high concentration of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) when compared with other foods. CLA has been attributed with a wide range of health benefits including anti-carcinogenic and anti-diabetes properties, in addition to reducing obesity and atherosclerosis.
  While kangaroo meat has enjoyed popularity for its organic nature, little information has been available about its nutrition benefits besides articles dedicated to the value of CLA's.  While basic nutritional data (total protein, fats etc.) are published worldwide, little research has been provided about the nature of the kangaroo protein and its composite amino acid profile. Of the 22 amino acids within protein, ten are vital to human and animal well-being because they can't be manufactured in the body. These are called 'essential amino acids' and the primary research on kangaroo muscle meat nutrition is from a seminal research paper by the primary Australian government science organisation CSIRO in 1970.
  Using this research paper as a primary data source essential amino acids have been calculated for dried kangaroo muscle meat (DM) and compared to various other farmed meat sources such as chicken, pork, beef and lamb. By comparison to these farmed meats, kangaroo meat is higher in threonine, isoleucine and valine and lower in arginine and methionine-cystine amino acids. This information is invaluable in calculating balanced diets or when a subject requires an extra natural source of a specific essential amino acid.
  Kangaroo meat was legalised for human consumption in South Australia in 1980. In New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria it could only be sold as pet food until 1993. Kangaroo was once limited in availability, although consumption in Australia is becoming more widespread. However, only 14.5% of Australians were reported in 2008 as eating kangaroo meat at least four times per year. Many Australian supermarkets now stock various cuts of kangaroo including fillets, steaks, minced meat and 'Kanga Bangas' (kangaroo sausages). Many Australian restaurants serve kangaroo meat.
  Kangaroo meat has been exported since 1959. Seventy percent of kangaroo meat is exported, particularly to the European market: Germany and France. It is sold in two supermarkets in the United Kingdom and before a suspension on imports of kangaroo meat to Russia in 2009 it was widely used in Russian smallgoods. In 2008, the industry is worth around A$250-270 million a year and provides around 4,000 jobs in Australia.
  The meat is also processed into pet food. The small kangaroo farming community is a more environmentally friendly meat industry than sheep or cattle farming since kangaroos require no processed feed, are well-adapted to drought, and do not destroy the root systems of native grasses. However, as of 1983, kangaroo farming is economically unattractive due to the start up costs and inability of the farmed product to compete financially against animals that have been killed by hunters under the government quota system.
caption: Smoked kangaroo jerky at a store in Richfield, Wisconsin, United States
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