The value of goat milk

Goats, it turns out, ARE cuddly. Who knew?

In the e-Alert “Goat Milk?” I wrote: “Goats aren’t cuddly.” This immediately produced a flurry of e-mails from several HSI members who informed me that I was way off the mark.

Here’s a message from a member named Elaine: “You say that goat’s aren’t cuddly. So wrong! They’re wonderful. And much smarter than dogs and cats. Except for pigs, they’re the smartest farm animals.”

I’ve never kept pigs or goats, so I’ll take Elaine’s word for their intelligence and cuddliness. But when I think of cuddling I think of sitting on the couch with my dozing dog curled up beside me as I give him a scratch behind the ears. Goats might be very affectionate animals, but I can’t envision that scene with a goat. It just doesn’t compute.

Still, these goat-loving members agree with me on at least one point: the value of goat milk. Elaine writes: “When I was three month’s old, I weighed less than my birth weight. Mom was feeding me cow’s milk. They switched to goat’s milk and I did fine after that. I’m 58 and still have trouble with cow’s milk. It’s just so hard to find raw goat’s milk anymore.”