Goat Milk or A2 Cow Milk to the Rescue, A Review

George Haenlein, F. W.

Department of Animal & Food Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark – DE19717 USA

George Haenlein, F. W., Department of Animal & Food Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark-DE19717 USA.

Keywords: Dairy Goats; Cow Milk Allergy; Alpha-s-2 Casein Milk; A2 Beta Casein Milk

Abstract

The worldwide distribution of goats was discussed leading to the justifiable assumption that more people drink goat milk or eat their products than any other milk after weaning from human nursing. Goats have had a superior population growth rate in numbers compared to other milk producing domestic animals, especially in the developing countries with large people population increases and high rates of undernutrition and malnutrition. Goat farming, especially with milking goats can be quite profitable regardless of country, if intensive types of management are practiced, leading to the prospect that for the increasing people populations there are increasing numbers of milk producing goats available to fight undernutrition and malnutrition. The choice for goat milk has at least three reasons, [1] they are more adapted to severe climate and geological conditions than any other domestic milk producing mammal; [2] they are easier and cheaper kept, especially by women and children than any other domestic milk producing mammal; [3] and their milk has superior nutritional and health qualities compared to the milk of the other domestic milk producing mammals. Thus it can seriously be asked why does goat milk matter? And the call for alternative milks meant that the US Board of Health definition of milk had to include alternative kinds or sources of milk. It also called for research to identify reasons why alternative milks such as goat milk are tolerated by allergy afflicted people, and the testing of milk for genetic variations was started. Soon the different proteins, alpha, beta, kappa, lactoglobulin, etc. were identified and many genetic mutations were recognized. The logical next step has been to translate this new knowledge into the practice of milk production from cows or goats or even whole herds of them. And this actually is happening with the advent of so-called A2 cow milk or alpha-s-2 goat milk coming to the rescue of people with gastro-intestinal afflictions when drinking traditional milk or with allergy reactions.

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