“Goatober” Bigger Than Ever!! Six Years Later, No Goat Left Behind!

We’re proud to announce that we’re celebrating the sixth year of our annual goat project — GOATOBER, aka NO GOAT LEFT BEHIND!
I love goats.

Most Americans have never had the chance to try well-sourced goat meat, but those who experience it for the first time marvel at how light it is. The flavor of goat meat is bright, lean, and floral, with a clean and grassy finish.

Also, goats are very funny. When we were writing the CARNIVORE’S MANIFESTO, one chapter (“I AM A GOAT”) was written from the point of view of a goat:

When you are as great as I am, it’s hard to be humble… You think Daffy and Donald are the funniest livestock? Think again… I’m the funny one. When you’re girlfriend has a beard, you sort of have to be.

When my co-author Mike Edison recorded the audio version he actually read this chapter using a goat voice, which, as it turns out, sounds a lot like Gilbert Godfrey.

No Goat Left Behind/Goatober was the brainchild of Heritage Radio Network Executive Director, Erin Fairbanks, and renowned New York cheesemonger Anne Saxelby. They launched the initiative to address the growing problem facing New England goat dairies — namely, what to do with male goats?

In order to make cheese, animals on the farm must be producing milk. And to make milk, mothers must be giving birth and having many babies, consistently. Male offspring create a dilemma for the farmer — they obviously don’t produce milk, and unfortunately, there is no established humanely sourced market for American goat meat. Male goats are often euthanized at birth. This is not only an ethical catastrophe but a wasteful excess of good food.

Naturally raised goat is a seasonal meat. Mothers give birth mostly in the spring, and baby goats grow strong on the plentiful spring and summer grasses. They are ready for market in the fall. This is why Heritage Foods USA is working to change the tenth month of the year from October to Goatober!