Kangaroo Meat For Lunch

[Julie's Haircut]

I heard this on the radio the other day at work. The DJ said that some of the kids got sick from the meat.

Psychosomatic illness after learning of the ingredients of the chili, no doubt.

If they did get physically ill, it was likely from the "beef" in the chili, not the kangaroo.

 

[Colleen27]

The list should just say “We put pork in our food without disclosure”. That is absolutely wrong for someone to think they are eating one thing, and to be served another thing. Like, I am thinking bordering on illegal.

I am amazed that there are people that don’t think this is a big deal.

As long as parents know up front which menu items are potentially problematic and alternatives/accommodations are available for students who need them, I really don't see the problem. What would you have schools do? Never adjust recipes, or send home notes to every family every time an ingredient is changed?

 

[GreatLakes]

Unless the menu said "all beef chili" or something similar I'm not seeing the problem. When you eat a meat chili you shouldn't assume what meat is in it other than it meeting safety standards. If it was turkey instead of beef would this guy have been fired? If I'm eating a ground meet chili I either ask what the meat is or just don't care. Could be beef, lamb, turkey, kangaroo, goat, etc. It really doesn't matter unless it was labeled something it wasn't.

I'm not reading the article so did the menu specif that meat that was supposed to be in the chili or just leave it vague?

 

[dotfurio]

The menu just says "chili."

I wonder about the timeline. How did they find out there was kangaroo meat in the chili? Did the kids say they felt ill before or after they found out? Not knowing if the district received any complaints prior to the superintendent's reaction, the letter the superintendent wrote sounds like he personally was disgusted by the idea of eating kangaroo and I think he overreacted. Or maybe the super is just throwing the cook under the bus since the cook said he ran it through him for approval first.

I don't think the cook should have been fired. He ordered it from the place he is permitted to order from and he chose it as a healthier option. Whoever approved their food vendor should have put the products they didn't want served on a "do not purchase" list.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Beef, chicken, pork are all common to eat here in the U.S. but not kangaroo. I understand the logic in seeing chili and not expecting it to be all beef I'm fine with that but people here don't think chili means kangaroo meat.

It's like we all know the talk about Wendy's chili..but I don't think most people would jump to "oh yeah there's kangaroo meat there too I bet". (and yes I know we could all say "well...." but you get my drift).

Also I would agree it's on the person to find out what's in their food but I would hope the places are honest with what's in it should someone ask. I personally don't have to deal with anything but having my husband's relative who has Celiac (though I don't see her too often) and my sister-in-law dating a Muslim there's def. a lot of checking of food.

I will agree though there's more to the story and somebody's not telling the full truth. I'd like to also know how it was discovered.

 

[bcla]

Unless the menu said "all beef chili" or something similar I'm not seeing the problem. When you eat a meat chili you shouldn't assume what meat is in it other than it meeting safety standards. If it was turkey instead of beef would this guy have been fired? If I'm eating a ground meet chili I either ask what the meat is or just don't care. Could be beef, lamb, turkey, kangaroo, goat, etc. It really doesn't matter unless it was labeled something it wasn't.

I'm not reading the article so did the menu specif that meat that was supposed to be in the chili or just leave it vague?

There might be considerations for those with religious dietary restrictions, but I would think the source of the meat would be disclosed if it were pork since that's a pretty common restriction. Perhaps beef since Hindus aren't supposed to consume that.

 

[bcla]

Beef, chicken, pork are all common to eat here in the U.S. but not kangaroo. I understand the logic in seeing chili and not expecting it to be all beef I'm fine with that but people here don't think chili means kangaroo meat.

It's like we all know the talk about Wendy's chili..but I don't think most people would jump to "oh yeah there's kangaroo meat there too I bet". (and yes I know we could all say "well...." but you get my drift).

Also I would agree it's on the person to find out what's in their food but I would hope the places are honest with what's in it should someone ask. I personally don't have to deal with anything but having my husband's relative who has Celiac (though I don't see her too often) and my sister-in-law dating a Muslim there's def. a lot of checking of food.

I will agree though there's more to the story and somebody's not telling the full truth. I'd like to also know how it was discovered.

I don't necessarily get the squeamishness about eating certain things. A friend of mine is Hindu. He said that just one time he tried eating a burger at McDonald's and couldn't get past one bite before he had to spit it out. When he found out that American McDonald's were using a beef flavoring in its fries (that he ate thinking they were vegetarian) he vowed never to go back.

Kangaroo meat is actually illegal to sell in my state. I thought it was kind of silly, but I was hearing about it because there were fans of certain soccer cleats that were made of kangaroo hide. We have a law that's been on the books for over 45 years that was supposedly based on a severe decline of wild kangaroos. However, there's was a waiver passed about a decade ago that allowed it until the end of 2015 or if another waiver was passed. That didn't happen and now it's illegal.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don't necessarily get the squeamishness about eating certain things. A friend of mine is Hindu. He said that just one time he tried eating a burger at McDonald's and couldn't get past one bite before he had to spit it out. When he found out that American McDonald's were using a beef flavoring in its fries (that he ate thinking they were vegetarian) he vowed never to go back.

Kangaroo meat is actually illegal to sell in my state. I thought it was kind of silly, but I was hearing about it because there were fans of certain soccer cleats that were made of kangaroo hide. We have a law that's been on the books for over 45 years that was supposedly based on a severe decline of wild kangaroos. However, there's was a waiver passed about a decade ago that allowed it until the end of 2015 or if another waiver was passed. That didn't happen and now it's illegal.

Ok..but respectfully I'm not sure what your post has to do with mine.

 

[bcla]

Ok..but respectfully I'm not sure what your post has to do with mine.

The first paragraph was about squeamishness that one has about food ingredients and religious/cultural reactions from finding out what the "secret ingredient" is. I thought it was related.

The second paragraph was just kind of an add on since I was too lazy to start another post.

 

[Professor_Cookie]

“HOW DARE THEY FEED OUR CHILDREN A LEANER, MORE NUTRITIOUS FORM OF PROTEIN? THE HORROR!”

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Unless the menu said "all beef chili" or something similar

I would assume "all beef chili" doesn't have beans. Not that it DOES have kangaroo meat.

 

[rajak73]

Psychosomatic illness after learning of the ingredients of the chili, no doubt.

If they did get physically ill, it was likely from the "beef" in the chili, not the kangaroo.

From rumor I heard, didn't get sick from the food. (Think laundry detergent challenge)

the letter the superintendent wrote sounds like he personally was disgusted by the idea of eating kangaroo and I think he overreacted. Or maybe the super is just throwing the cook under the bus since the cook said he ran it through him for approval first.

I think you nailed it right there.

The menu just says "chili."
He ordered it from the place he is permitted to order from and he chose it as a healthier option. Whoever approved their food vendor should have put the products they didn't want served on a "do not purchase" list.

This vendor probably supplies 90% of school food here.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Look, y'all are really reaching here. I understand the menu didn't specify the meat, but what would a reasonable person assume about chili? If it has meat, it's going to be beef. If a chili had turkey in it, instead, it would be called "turkey chili". If you ordered a "taco", you would assume beef. If the taco had fish in it, the menu would say "fish taco". Because reasonable person in the United States (especially school-aged children and their parents) would assume "chili", without any adjectives, would be the standard United States cultural understanding of the dish: beans and ground beef in a spicy tomato-based sauce, possibly with peppers and onions. No reasonable person would look at a menu that said "Chili", and think "oh, this might have kangaroo meat".

 

[mjkacmom]

I would assume "all beef chili" doesn't have beans. Not that it DOES have kangaroo meat.

I would assume all beef chili didn’t contain other types of meat. If it was labeled “made with real meat,” I wouldn’t assume all of the meat was beef.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Look, y'all are really reaching here. I understand the menu didn't specify the meat, but what would a reasonable person assume about chili? If it has meat, it's going to be beef. If a chili had turkey in it, instead, it would be called "turkey chili". If you ordered a "taco", you would assume beef. If the taco had fish in it, the menu would say "fish taco". Because reasonable person in the United States (especially school-aged children and their parents) would assume "chili", without any adjectives, would be the standard United States cultural understanding of the dish: beans and ground beef in a spicy tomato-based sauce, possibly with peppers and onions. No reasonable person would look at a menu that said "Chili", and think "oh, this might have kangaroo meat".

Examples: I would assume Taco Bell's tacos are beef and not, for example, alligator. There's a local drive-in that does specialty tacos; the alligator tacos are clearly labeled "gator tacos".

 

[GreatLakes]

I would assume "all beef chili" doesn't have beans. Not that it DOES have kangaroo meat.

I would only assume "all beef chili" has no other meet than beef.

Look, y'all are really reaching here. I understand the menu didn't specify the meat, but what would a reasonable person assume about chili? If it has meat, it's going to be beef. If a chili had turkey in it, instead, it would be called "turkey chili". If you ordered a "taco", you would assume beef. If the taco had fish in it, the menu would say "fish taco". Because reasonable person in the United States (especially school-aged children and their parents) would assume "chili", without any adjectives, would be the standard United States cultural understanding of the dish: beans and ground beef in a spicy tomato-based sauce, possibly with peppers and onions. No reasonable person would look at a menu that said "Chili", and think "oh, this might have kangaroo meat".

I, a reasonable person, would never assume the meat in chili is beef if it isn't specified. If it just said chili (or meat chili) I would accept any legal meet in it, not just beef. I wouldn't think "this might have kangaroo in it" but I would think "this could have any type of meat in it so if I'm concerned I should ask for clarification".

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The first paragraph was about squeamishness that one has about food ingredients and religious/cultural reactions from finding out what the "secret ingredient" is. I thought it was related.

The second paragraph was just kind of an add on since I was too lazy to start another post.

Ah ok I gotcha lol

I guess I would disagree on the squeamishness aspect:

1) I can understand it.

2) I can understand it in regards to religious aspects too. I never really had to actively think about it until my sister-in-law's relationship but we all take care in what food we have when we invite him over to the various people's houses to ensure there is at least some food for him to eat. We poured over hot dogs for example to ensure it was made with synthetic casing and not pork. She now does not eat pork bacon and instead has switched to turkey bacon, she has also stopped drinking alcohol entirely.

 

[bcla]

I can understand it in regards to religious aspects too. I never really had to actively think about it until my sister-in-law's relationship but we all take care in what food we have when we invite him over to the various people's houses to ensure there is at least some food for him to eat. We poured over hot dogs for example to ensure it was made with synthetic casing and not pork. She now does not eat pork bacon and instead has switched to turkey bacon, she has also stopped drinking alcohol entirely.

Everyone has a different take. In my years I've worked with a lot of Hindus originally from India as well as American born Hindus. I remember one who said she would never knowingly eat any meat or anything made from meat. There was literally rioting in India when they found that McDonald's in the US used a beef extract flavoring. Then again a good friend had no problem with a hamburger. Said it was a sin in his religion.

One figures out what's acceptable for dietary/cultural/religious reasons. We'd go out to Red Robin, and all the Hindus in the group would be ordering the veggie burger. The oddest things I remember was a HS friend who was a devout Muslim. We were getting a pizza and he refused when it was pepperoni. But he also had a side job at Wienerschitzel where he was preparing hot dogs on the griddle. I asked "don't some of those sausages contain pork" - he answered that he was told it was OK as long as he washed his hands. I don't believe that's a universal belief among Muslims though.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Everyone has a different take. In my years I've worked with a lot of Hindus originally from India as well as American born Hindus. I remember one who said she would never knowingly eat any meat or anything made from meat. There was literally rioting in India when they found that McDonald's in the US used a beef extract flavoring. Then again a good friend had no problem with a hamburger. Said it was a sin in his religion.

One figures out what's acceptable for dietary/cultural/religious reasons. We'd go out to Red Robin, and all the Hindus in the group would be ordering the veggie burger. The oddest things I remember was a HS friend who was a devout Muslim. We were getting a pizza and he refused when it was pepperoni. But he also had a side job at Wienerschitzel where he was preparing hot dogs on the griddle. I asked "don't some of those sausages contain pork" - he answered that he was told it was OK as long as he washed his hands. I don't believe that's a universal belief among Muslims though.

It could be differences or it could be strictness in adherance or other things lol, I couldn't tell you. Sister-in-law's bf is from Pakistan and moved over here when he was around 12 or so. We just try to be as aware as we can be of what he's advised us.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

There's a lot more to the story of any of the kids getting sick from the meal.



Not by happyinwonderlands opinion, it met USDA standards, was approved by USDA and passed requirements for nutrition for school lunch food. Advertised in the school food suppliers pamplet. I haven't heard of any kids that were upset, some parents maybe.


These are from some local news reports.
some students reportedly became ill after eating the chili. (More to this too than is being reported.)

the school's head cook decided to use the meat because it is leaner and healthier than beef.

According to KSID, Frei was fired as head cook on Wednesday. Frei told the news outlet that he saw the meat advertised in a Sysco order catalog and received approval from Williams to buy the meat. He also told KSID Williams looked at the meat and gave him permission to use it. Williams denied to the news outlet that he was informed about ordering the meat, and added that if he had known it would never have happened.

Meeting USDA standards and passing nutrition for school lunch food has nothing to do with healthy food. As happyinonerland said herself compared to most possessed stuff they serve in school...

It’s ok that you think kangaroo meat is healthy. Many nutritionists and top world renowned US cardiologists don’t think that any meat, poultry, fish or dairy is healthy and they are the doctors I follow for nutrition and have studied for 6 years with. However it’s ok if you or anyone else, including a doctoror agency have a different opinion on that. To each his own.