1 To most people today, especially in the more
developed countries,
the term milk is synonomous with cow milk, as if cows
alone possess a
singular ability to produce mammary secretions.
Perhaps nowhere has
the feeling been more prevalent than in the US, where
over 10 million
cows are maintained to provide an abundant, clean
source of nourishment
and refreshment to our country, producing more than
125 billion pounds
of milk annually. Yet on a world wide basis, there are
more people who
drink the milk of goats than from any other single
animal. Over 440
million goats (world wide) produce an estimated 4.8
million tons of milk
that is predominantly consumed locally, or processed
into various
types of cheeses.
2 Here in the US, which historically has been one of
the staunchest
denigrators of the ''stinking'' goat, there are
approximately a million
dairy goats actively producing milk. Most of the
upsurge in goat
popularity has been the result of a growing trend
towards attaining
some measure of selfsufficiency on the part of many
people, for both
economic and aesthetic purposes. A goat will eat
little, occupy a small
area and produce enough milk for the average family (a
good milker will
produce about a gallon a day); whereas the prospect of
maintaining a
cow in a surburban backyard is usually more than the
homeowner is
willing or able to cope with. Hence the growing
popularity of the
''poor man's cow''.
3 As the interest in dairy goats and their products
continues to
rise, it is apparent that many misconceptions,
discrepancies and
exaggerated claims are being perpetuated. A comparison
of cow and goat
milk seems to be in order, so that some prejudices
against goat milk
may be erased. Also, while goat milk is somewhat
unique, it is
certainly not a magical elixir.
4 One of the primary misconceptions concerning goat
milk is that it
has a peculiar ''goaty'' odor or taste to it. This
effect is produced
by the presence of the buck, whose scent glands are
rather odoriferous
and may indeed cause the ''goaty'' type of milk people
object to if he
is present among the herd, especially at milking time.
Does, however,
do not have the powerful odor of the buck and milk
produced in the
absence of a buck should bear no objectionable odor.
5 Diet also plays a large role in the palatability of
goat milk, as
well as cow milk. While cows are usually rather
closely regulated as to
what they may eat and when, goats are often allowed to
consume a great
variety of materials at any time, including browsing.
This kind of
feeding may allow a certain ''off'' taste or smell to
be transferred to
the milk, just as cows may produce a ''garlicky'' milk
from some
spring pastures. What holds true for the cow also
holds for the goat;
i.e. what comes out is based on what goes in! If goats
and cows are
similarly managed, the smell and taste of both milks
are quite
comparable.
6 Goat milk is similar to cow milk, in its basic
composition. In
average, cow milk contains about 12.2 0ry matter
(3.2DE9E:0001rotein, 3.6
fat, 4.7lactose and 0.7mineral matter). Goat milk
contains about
12.1 dry matter (3.40001:0000rotein, 3.8
377794337129920800000000.000000at,
matter). These figures are only averages of course, as
there are
considerable differences between breeds, and among
individuals of a
breed. There are 6 breeds of dairy cows in the US, and
6 breeds of
dairy goats producing milk.
7 The Saanen is best known as the Holstein of the goat
world,
producing a high quantity of milk with somewhat low
fat levels. At the
other extreme is the Jersey of the goat world, the
Nubian. This breed
produces a lesser amount of milk with a high fat
content. The
Toggenburg, LaMancha, Oberhasli and Alpine fall
somewhere in between.
8 However, there are also differences that give goat's
milk a place
for special purposes. In summary:
++++MISSING DATA++++
9 Allergies appear to be more common than formerly
thought,
especially in very young children. In an allergic type
reaction, the
symptoms are produced by histamines, which are stored
in body cells.
Histamines are released when triggered by a local
stimulus.
Antibody-antigen type reactions that manage to find an
anchorage on
cell walls trigger a release of histamine and produce
the allergic
symptoms. Such a release brings on a congestion of the
capillaries and
a flooding of the intracellular spaces by the
lymphatic glands. The
stimulation of local nerve endings also occurs. People
who display an
allergic reaction are usually more sensitive to the
release of a given
amount of histamine and also tend to produce greater
numbers of
antibodies to certain proteins.
10 Some of the so called ''sudden deaths'' of infants
seem to be
related to allergic type responses, resulting in
anaphylactic shock.
About 60f the infants in the US suffer allergic
responses to cow's
milk. Of this number, however about only 14(of the 6)
react to
bovine serum present in cow milk. Most infants are
allergic to various
constituents of cow milk which may also be present in
goat milk.
Individuals who are allergic to bovine serum in cow
milk will undergo
also an allergic reaction to a variety of dairy
products that are made
with cow milk.
11 Other types of digestive upsets can result from
milk due to a lack
of the lactosedigesting enzyme. While the presence of
lactase is
universal in infants (up to 3 years), the presence of
this enzyme in
adults is somewhat irregular and genetically
determined.
12 Fat
One of the more significant differences from cow milk
is found in
the composition and structure of fat in goat milk. The
average size of
goat milk fat globules is about 2 micrometers, as
compared to 21/2 -
31/2 micrometers for cow milk fat. These smaller sized
fat globules
provide a better dispersion, and a more homogeneous
mixture of fat in
the milk. Research indicates that there is more
involved to the
creaming ability of milk than merely physical size of
the fat globules.
It appears that their clustering is favored by the
presence of an
agglutinin in milk which is lacking in goat milk,
therefore creating a
poor creaming ability, especially at lower
temperatures.
13 The natural homogenization of goat milk is, from a
human health
standpoint, much better than the mechanically
homogenized cow milk
product. It appears that when fat globules are
forcibly broken up by
mechanical means, it allows an enzyme associated with
milk fat, known
as xanthine oxidase to become free and penetrate the
intestinal wall.
Once xanthine oxidase gets through the intestinal wall
and into the
bloodstream, it is capable of creating scar damage to
the heart and
arteries, which in turn may stimulate the body to
release cholestrol
into the blood in an attempt to lay a protective fatty
material on the
scarred areas. This can lead to arteriosclerosis. It
should be noted
that this effect is not a problem with natural
(unhomogenized) cow
milk. In unhomogenized milk this enzyme is normally
excreted from the
body without much absorption.
14 Another significant difference from cow milk is the
higher amount
of shorter-chain fatty acids in the milk fat of goats.
15 Furthermore, glycerol ethers are much higher in
goat then in cow
milk which appears to be important for the nutrition
of the nursing
newborn. Goat milk also has lower contents of orotic
acid which can be
significant in the prevention of fatty liver syndrome.
However, the
membranes around fat globules in goat milk are more
fragile which may
be related to their greater susceptibility to develop
off-flavors than
cow milk.
16 Protein
The protein composition of cow and goat milk is fairly
similar,
although the typical major alpha-s-1- casein in cow
milk is absent in
goat milk and the formation of casein curd under
rennin action is
different. The quality of curd is judged on two
criteria:
1. Curd tension - a measure of the hardness or
softness of the
curd. The softer the material, the more easily
digestible it is. This
tension is largely a breed characteristic. Holsteins
generally have
the softest curd in the bovine family. Cow range =
15-200 g, avg = 70
g. Goats range = 10-70 g, avg = 36 g.
2. Relative size of flakes - formed by the addition of
strong acid
to milk, causing curd flakes to precipitate. It can be
seen that goat
milk forms finer flakes more rapidly than cow milk,
which tends to form
large lumps and more slowly. This test tends to
duplicate reactions
that occurs in the stomach, and demonstrates why goat
milk is more
easily and rapidly digested.
17 Vitamins
Goat milk has greater amounts of vitamin A than cow
milk. Also,
goats convert all carotenes into vitamine A, creating
a white type of
milk.
18 Vitamin B levels are a result of rumen synthesis in
goats and cows,
and are somewhat independent of diet. Goat milk is
higher in B levels
especially riboflavin, but vitamin B6 and B12 are
higher in cow milk.
Niacin levels are also higher in goat milk.
19 The milk levels of vitamin C and D are low and
roughly the same for
cows and goats.
20 Lactose
Cow milk is higher in lactose levels, although the
difference is
minor.
21 Ash (Minerals) and Buffering
Goat milk is higher in minerals, calcium, potassium,
magnesium,
phosphorus, chlorine and maganese; but it is lower in
sodium, iron,
sulphur, zinc and molybdenum.
22 Cow and goat milk is slightly on the acid side,
with a pH range of
6.4-6.7. The principal buffering components of milk
are proteins and
phosphates. The good buffering capability of goat milk
appears to make
it ideal for treatment of gastric ulcers.
23 Goat milk has also less of certain enzymes,
ribonuclease, alkaline
phosphatase, lipase and xanthine oxidase. Thus, some
differences exist
but their nutritional significances in human nutrition
have yet to be
researched and documented. The goat probably will
never replace the cow
for commercial production of milk, but there seems to
be a great
potential for diligent efforts in practice and
research to improve
production and marketing of goat milk and its
products. The value of
goat milk as an alternative food for children and sick
people, because
it is easier digested, extends also to feeding
animals, young dogs,
foals, even calves. Experience in the field indicates
that calves can
consume large quantities of goat milk while similar
amounts of cow milk
may result in scouring calves. Goat milk can,
therefore, have a value
not only for growing veal but also for raising
valuable dairy
replacement heifers, which will benefit from the high
milk intake and
show superior growth.
