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Goats fighting America's plant invasion

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Re: Goats fighting America's plant invasion

#21

Post by ndespres »

stinos wrote: post #10
ndespres wrote: post #6

When my coworkers see news like this they start telling me that I ought to bring my fleet of Nubian goats out on jobs like this. They do great work, easily digesting poison ivy (and destroying its seeds so it can't regrow from their droppings). Goats are a big component of a project I'm working on now, where they will graze on fallow land, eating weeds and grasses, depositing fertilizer and tilling the land with thei…

they will graze on fallow land, eating weeds and grasses, depositing fertilizer and tilling the land with their hooves in the process Almost literally as it's described by John Seymour! Ok he talks about pigs, but there's not that much difference - quote: To say nothing of the fact that pigs are the finest free cultivators that were ever invented! They will clear your land, and plough it, and dung it, and harrow it,…

I've got my hands full with my current flock, but I would love to have pigs for this reason (among others). Would be great to have them root around in some scrub land as Seymour describes, then use its new fertility to grow grains to feed myself and the goats, continuing the cycle! Just not enough time in the day :)

Re: Goats fighting America's plant invasion

#22

Post by jtreminio »

manishsharan wrote: post #12

I have always wondered why western nations do not consume goat meat. One of my christian friends mentioned is that ii is because of hooves and devil symbolism; is there any merit to this argument ? I understand Hindus don't eat beef because of religious reasons and muslims don't eat pork also because of religious reasons. This is a comparison of nutritional value of goat vs. beef vs pork. http://www.wolframalpha.com/…

Monterrey, Mexico is famous for cabritos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabrito

There's quite a number of high-end restaurants that specialize in this delicious meat.

I would say hispanics as a whole are much more open about eating goat or sheep. Americans seem to prefer cow, and lean pork.

Or maybe it's the idea that a rack of delicious lamb chops is more expensive that the equivalent beef steak?

Re: Goats fighting America's plant invasion

#23

Post by sp332 »

digi_owl wrote: post #16
manishsharan wrote: post #12

I have always wondered why western nations do not consume goat meat. One of my christian friends mentioned is that ii is because of hooves and devil symbolism; is there any merit to this argument ? I understand Hindus don't eat beef because of religious reasons and muslims don't eat pork also because of religious reasons. This is a comparison of nutritional value of goat vs. beef vs pork. http://www.wolframalpha.com/…

I suspect it is a matter of taste. As for the pork thing, it is not just muslims. Strictly speaking christians should not touch it either as it is part of the old testament. My personal take on this is that back then someone observed that people that ate pork often ended up sick and died. While we now know that is is because of an illness passed from pig to human, back then it may well have been interpreted as divine…

Christians had those foods explicitly declared "clean" by God, at the same time that he declared Gentiles clean. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2010&versi...

Re: Goats fighting America's plant invasion

#24

Post by Eye_of_Mordor »

zwieback wrote: post #13
Eye_of_Mordor wrote: post #9

Aren't these goats also an invasive species?

I was wondering about that too, hopefully nothing like the wild pigs that plague Texas will happen with the goats. We might just have to bring in tigers or something like that to control the goats later on...

The Europeans or the Mexicans?

Re: Goats fighting America's plant invasion

#25

Post by stinos »

ndespres wrote: post #21
stinos wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

they will graze on fallow land, eating weeds and grasses, depositing fertilizer and tilling the land with their hooves in the process Almost literally as it's described by John Seymour! Ok he talks about pigs, but there's not that much difference - quote: To say nothing of the fact that pigs are the finest free cultivators that were ever invented! They will clear your land, and plough it, and dung it, and harrow it,…

I've got my hands full with my current flock, but I would love to have pigs for this reason (among others). Would be great to have them root around in some scrub land as Seymour describes, then use its new fertility to grow grains to feed myself and the goats, continuing the cycle! Just not enough time in the day :)

Yeah I know the feeling, never enough time. Maintaining land+flock really seems to be a full time job. But pigs are awesome, very intelligent as well. We have some kunekune pigs and while they don't prepare the land as described above, they do happily eat grass and various kinds of plants the entire day and usually drop their dung in a couple of confined places so it's relatively easy to collect and use elsewhere. But I admit the main reason we have them is they are super adorable, cute, friendly, funny, play well together with goats, loved by children, don't require much looking after, you name it. Highly recommened :P

Re: Goats fighting America's plant invasion

#26

Post by ndespres »

manishsharan wrote: post #12

I have always wondered why western nations do not consume goat meat. One of my christian friends mentioned is that ii is because of hooves and devil symbolism; is there any merit to this argument ? I understand Hindus don't eat beef because of religious reasons and muslims don't eat pork also because of religious reasons. This is a comparison of nutritional value of goat vs. beef vs pork. http://www.wolframalpha.com/…

I believe it to be cultural and economical. Beef, pork, and chicken are well-established as easy to mass-produce on a large scale, with outlets for all the "extra bits" (hot dogs, Chicken McNuggets, etc) which would cut into the producer's bottom line and make a cut of goat meat seem more expensive than the equivalent pork chop.

Secondly, these aren't necessarily "acceptable" meats. Much like rabbits, which I raise for meat occasionally, eyebrows get raised and judgements get passed. Perhaps producers and consumers both find it easiest to stick with what's deemed acceptable and common, easy to homogenize and turn into processed food.

Among those who know better.. goat, yum.

Re: Goats fighting America's plant invasion

#27

Post by thesadman »

manishsharan wrote: post #12

I have always wondered why western nations do not consume goat meat. One of my christian friends mentioned is that ii is because of hooves and devil symbolism; is there any merit to this argument ? I understand Hindus don't eat beef because of religious reasons and muslims don't eat pork also because of religious reasons. This is a comparison of nutritional value of goat vs. beef vs pork. http://www.wolframalpha.com/…

Goats are especially vulnerable to hoof rot / foot scald and foot abscesses when they're spending lots of time on soils / ground that are wet or moist in places like Wales which is why they're heavily medicated. Climates like India with significant dry/arid periods are probably the climates that goats evolved in.

Re: Goats fighting America's plant invasion

#29

Post by dalke »

manishsharan wrote: post #12

I have always wondered why western nations do not consume goat meat. One of my christian friends mentioned is that ii is because of hooves and devil symbolism; is there any merit to this argument ? I understand Hindus don't eat beef because of religious reasons and muslims don't eat pork also because of religious reasons. This is a comparison of nutritional value of goat vs. beef vs pork. http://www.wolframalpha.com/…

But they do consume goat. It's part of Latin American cuisine, and '"Lamb" (or goat on the islands) is the traditional Easter meat served throughout Greece' ( http://www.amb-grece.fr/grece/greek_orthodox_easter.htm ).

Why don't Americans eat much goat? According to http://modernfarmer.com/2013/09/goat-left-behind/ :

> “It’s not a flavor issue; it’s the word more than anything else,” he says. Perhaps calling it “Caribbean lamb” would increase sales.

> Fairbanks guesses most folks simply have no experience with eating goat – or perhaps have had an unpleasant one eating curry cooked with older goat, which might have a gamey taste or tough texture.

> Another hurdle for goat meat: Consumers don’t see it on menus.

It's hard to say it's a Christian thing.

Note that this isn't a new thing either. "Consumer Attitudes and Handling Practices of Retailers for Lamb, Mutton and Goat", Feb. 1959 has several things to say about it, mostly concluding it's a lack of experience. It has more to say about lamb/mutton than sheep.

One of the curious observations is that military family consumption was very low compared to the average American family. Quoting from http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txa.tarb087001;view=1u... :

> Military officials attribute the dislike of military personnel for lamb to the fact that many troops spent several months or years in England and other heavy lamb and mutton-eating countries during World War II. The reasoning is that they were given so much lamb and mutton that many of them developed a psychological dislike for it.

Re: Goats fighting America's plant invasion

#30

Post by ayuvar »

ndespres wrote: post #6

When my coworkers see news like this they start telling me that I ought to bring my fleet of Nubian goats out on jobs like this. They do great work, easily digesting poison ivy (and destroying its seeds so it can't regrow from their droppings). Goats are a big component of a project I'm working on now, where they will graze on fallow land, eating weeds and grasses, depositing fertilizer and tilling the land with thei…

What do you do for a living that involves strategizing around a 'fleet' of goats? Do you lease them out to a client or are you some kind of environmental planner?

I've made jokes about getting a goat so I don't have to mow the lawn anymore, but you've clearly taken it to the next level.

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