I agree with pretty much everything you’ve written, as well as the connections you’ve made to the communism-capitalism debate.

I do agree that our society would be better off if people had more awareness and connection to the animals we exploit. Our mindlessness about or indifference toward how our food products come to be is a problem. However, I don’t think this awareness has much change to really come about. Documentaries and policy changes certainly help, but ultimately, in my opinion, the trend the U.S. is toward a complete separation from animal life even beyond what is currently going on. For instance, the synthetic meat we spoke about a few weeks ago. And, frankly, if new technologies like this can give us food that is healthy, I’m all for it, because that means we can let go of our exploitative practices and produce our food without harming animals.

Sorry, correction… we DO need many of the nutrients in milk.

We do not need many of the nutrients in milk, but there are other sources of these nutrients. Calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus, protein, etc. are all essential for us to survive, and milk is a great way to get them. Milk just isn’t the only way to get them. But, for cultures thousands of years ago who went through periods of struggle, having a cow to provide milk was probably life or death.

I totally feel the same way about having a new appreciation for goats. I had no idea they were so intelligent. The research you brought up is really interesting. In my opinion, I would also agree that it seems t be the domestication that has formed their behavior. Given that humans give them their milk from birth, I could see how they become so deeply bonded with people. The bond you mentioned that formed as they nursed their goat back to health is still interesting, though, given that the goat seemed to form a bond with a different human than the one that fed her from birth (if I remember the story correctly). Perhaps they don’t differentiate between humans, or perhaps the goat was aware she as being cared for, making for a truly remarkable behavior. Regardless, I’m also really glad I was able to learn and gain appreciation for this amazing animal.

I do agree that the portion on breeding was hard to get through, however to make the point that you gathered from his story, I think it was necessary. After reading this section, in a state a disgust the whole time, I realized that’s exactly what he wanted us to feel. We’ve become so disconnected with animals that we don’t even want to think about the most basic of animal processes. It was between the breeding and comments such as the one about removing blood clots from the milk (which made me gag a little) that I realized how much the “out of sight out of mind” concept we discussed earlier this semester is so applicable here. Although I didn’t fully appreciate the images initially, I’m glad Kessler opened my eyes to the reality of how our food is produced.

Agreed. Hilarious video.

Please tell me you’ve seen this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IuRzJRrRpQ

Absolutely perfect regarding your mention of how hilarious goats are.

You’re doing goats for your project right? Bring in some cheese!!

I like the idea of the “mutual relationship” he talks about. I felt like the goats were really a part of his family by the end and that he truly cared about their well being and safety. This is why he was so proactive about getting rid of the coyotes and called the doctors at first sight of trouble.

I liked that you wanted to go out and try goat cheese because I had pretty much the same reaction. I also really wanted to try that cappachinno drink he mentioned in an earlier chapter with goat’s milk. It was a really interesting book about an animal I had never really studied before.