An article I read in the Times at the weekend has me asking “where’s the beef?” once again. Apparently it has been suggested that beef should be replaced by roo on the menu (after a period re-educating our palates).

Forgive me if I’m wrong but I thought all ruminants had this farting problem (and I know that gorillas and pandas are quite windy too owing to their diet)? Is there a reason (other than world population size) that cows are singled out for extermination? Aren’t sheep, goats, bison, buffalo, wildebeest, yaks, alpacas, llamas, camels, giraffes, deer and antelope part of the problem too?

I have very fond memories of watching the ladies head for the milking parlour on a summer’s evening. It was my cue to head back home too. Has anyone tried to milk a marsupial I wonder? And what do you think about Kangaroo Cheddar?

Crossed with sheep, wooly jumpers.

Over here in Canada, Skippy is a brand of peanut butter - so the headline was somewhat confusing for me at first. All that said, I remember when I was at university in the 1980s there was some kind of scandal involving hamburger "beef" that was, in fact, kangaroo. It was probably better than the gristle that passed for meat in the hall of residence canteen.

Paul in Montreal.