Goat meat may soon be the hot new alternative to beef, pork and poultry, or at least this is the hope of researchers at the University of Florida and Florida A & M University. According to a recent report in US journal The Ledger Scientists for the Florida Statewide Goat Program believe they have created two breakthrough products that will make goat meat as popular as beef, pork and poultry. "Cabrito Snack Sticks" and "Cabrito Smoked Sausage" could land on supermarket shelves by the end of the year, said Sally Williams, a UF professor of animal science who helped develop the new products. "Cabrito" is Spanish for goat meat. Image may be the main hurdle as US consumers, unlike their South American and Mexican neighbours, are unfamiliar and wary of this new meat on the market. Marvin Shurley, president of the American Meat Goat Association in Sonora, Texas said, "We need a favourable introduction. The American consumers' perception of the goat works against people consuming goat meat." The biggest misconception is that goats eat anything, even garbage or, as one stereotype goes, tin cans, he said. Despite the apparent consumer reticence and wariness, goat meat may well be the beginning of a new trend. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, the goat population grew a huge 75 per cent from 591,543 animals in 1992 to more than 1 million in 1997 at the most recent census.
