Well the fact of the matter is that until recently, billy kids born to dairy herd mothers would never have made it as far as the bridge, not had to face down a troll. A worse and more precipitous fate befell them; euthanised at birth, the carcasses disposed of unceremoniously and wastefully.
And this where our friend James Whetlor comes in. With a background as a chef in London, who moved to River Cottage, whose philosophy reinforced his own ethical beliefs, his chance encounter with goat farming practices, shocked him sufficiently to make him do something about it; something real, something positive. Words backed up with actions, actions supported by words. Not a campaign of rhetoric and hand wringing, but a contribution to a growing international movement, which originated in New York of all places back in 2011.
He now sources and sells kid goat meat and retired dairy goat meat. This is an extract from his website -
"All Cabrito kids are a by-product of the dairy industry and would have in the past been euthanized shortly after birth. In a world of dwindling resources and rising food prices Cabrito believe this cannot be justified. They now have a network of farms producing high quality meat from a previously wasted resource."
So far, so good, but where do we fit into all of this?
Well James has long been a fan of a Netherton pan and photos of the prospector pan can be found between the covers of his luscious book of recipes, GOAT.
And this summer, we had a fantastic day out with James, cooking goat dishes with Netherton cookware on Lyme Regis beach in the summer, with photos shot by ace photographer, Neil White
This is definitely the kind of collaboration we love - like minded people, sharing a passion for and working to promote our own and each others' crafts, skills and products. With a picnic on the beach! What's not to like?
Here are just a few of the photos, highlighting Neil's and James's skills, our cookware and the glorious setting of the Dorset coast.
And here is a little more from the official Goatober website, explaining the history and aims of the initiative.
Please check out and join in some of the exciting Goatober events, wherever you are. And if you can't make it to any of these, head over to the Cabrito website, order yourself some meat and celebrate at home.
About
Goatober
Goatober originated in New York in 2011 and has
grown in eight years to have events and participants all around the world, from
London to Melbourne, from Amsterdam to Trinidad and Tobago. What started as a
small campaign to prolong the lives of billy goats and to put a delicious,
ethical meat on the menu has grown into an international campaign bringing
together dairies, farmers, NGOs and individuals who are passionate about ending
food waste in the goat dairy system.
Goatober, aka No Goat Left Behind, was the brainchild of former Heritage Radio Network Executive Director, Erin Fairbanks and renowned New York cheesemonger, Anne Saxelby. They launched the initiative together with Heritage Foods to address the growing problem facing New England goat dairies - namely, what to do with male goats? Male offspring create a dilemma for dairy farmers - they obviously don’t produce cheese, and unfortunately, there is no established humanely sourced market for American goat meat. From this senseless waste Goatober was created and with it a month-long celebration of putting goat meat on the menu of New York’s best restaurants. The campaign had quick success and now there are over 100 restaurants involved in Goatober from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Heritage Foods, who The New York Times called “… the company at the forefront of the nonindustrial meat movement” is the largest distributor of rare and heritage breed meats in the USA. They are dedicated to supporting a network of over 50 family farmers who raise their livestock humanely, outdoors, on pasture and never with antibiotics or growth hormones. Its founder, Patrick Martins is also the founder of Slow Food USA and Heritage Radio Network.
Goatober, aka No Goat Left Behind, was the brainchild of former Heritage Radio Network Executive Director, Erin Fairbanks and renowned New York cheesemonger, Anne Saxelby. They launched the initiative together with Heritage Foods to address the growing problem facing New England goat dairies - namely, what to do with male goats? Male offspring create a dilemma for dairy farmers - they obviously don’t produce cheese, and unfortunately, there is no established humanely sourced market for American goat meat. From this senseless waste Goatober was created and with it a month-long celebration of putting goat meat on the menu of New York’s best restaurants. The campaign had quick success and now there are over 100 restaurants involved in Goatober from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Heritage Foods, who The New York Times called “… the company at the forefront of the nonindustrial meat movement” is the largest distributor of rare and heritage breed meats in the USA. They are dedicated to supporting a network of over 50 family farmers who raise their livestock humanely, outdoors, on pasture and never with antibiotics or growth hormones. Its founder, Patrick Martins is also the founder of Slow Food USA and Heritage Radio Network.
Goatober was introduced into the UK in 2016 by James Whetlor from Cabrito Goat Meat and into mainland Europe in the following year. There are vibrant dairy industries across the UK and Europe who want to change the practice of euthanising and Goatober is part of the solution. The campaign aims to put a goat dish on restaurant menus and to encourage people to try cooking goat at home themselves, for all or part of October.
All photo copyrights belong to Neil A White ©
Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019 ©
