Why you should add goat to your diet, according to a former chef

Whether it's in ice cream or cheese, goat's milk has become a popular cooking ingredient and a healthy alternative to cow's milk.

But there's a problem. Each year, thousands of male goats are killed by farmers who cannot afford to keep them.

"Goatober", a month-long campaign in the UK, is the response to the problem from former chef turned meat supplier James Whestlor. The campaign aims to promote goat meat as an alternative to lamb or beef to the general public.

Whetlor told Business Insider that although the goat's milk industry in the UK is expanding, "far too many goats are being euthanised."

The problem with the industry, according to Whetlor, is that the "nannies," or female goats, need to be kept pregnant in order to produce milk.

"When 50% of those animals born are male, you're going to end up with a lot of waste," he said.

Billy goats - young males - are considered a "by-product," and most are euthanised shortly after birth. A very small number are kept on for breeding purposes.

In response, Whetlor founded his company Cabrito in 2012, which supplies retailers like Ocado and Michelin-starred chefs with "kid" goat meat in an effort to reduce waste in the industry.

"On a very fundamental point, I just couldn't understand how an animal can be totally worthless," Whetlor said.

As part of Goatober, Whetlor has partnered with several restaurants, including the Michelin-starred St John in London, to purchase unwanted male goats and serve them on their menus.

"When people usually think about goat, they think about a grown animal," he said. "They think they're smelly and unhygienic and the meat has a very strong taste, but that's not what we're working with here."

Whetlor said that unlike meat from mature goats, kid meat - which comes from an animal that is six or seven months old - is "much lighter, fresher and better for you." He said that because of its subtle flavour, it's easy to incorporate kid meat into most recipes that would usually call for lamb.

"There are some wonderful barbeque recipes for goat chops, and you can make delicious rack of goat too," he said.

Goat meat is still more expensive than lamb, as young goats are given an artificial milk formula so that the females' milk can be sold, but Whetlor is confident that Goatober will change people's perceptions of it.

"We're not asking people to buy it every day," he said, "but we think - if you're someone who drinks goat's milk or likes goat's cheese - this is something you might want to include in your diet."