Goat's milk 'healthier than cow milk'

By R. Agus Bakti

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The benefits of drinking cow's milk have long been known to many, but what about goat's milk?

For many people, milk from a goat has a strange taste. However, it is popular enough in Kemiri Kebo village, Sleman district, Yogyakarta, where goats are milked every day.

Goat breeder Suyatno said that about 600 goats were raised in the village. Most of them are Etawa goats and grow to about one and a half meters tall.

However, not all of the 600 goats are milked because their milk is not yet especially popular with Javanese people.

To promote the delights of goat's milk, the villagers have set up the Etawa Mulya Cooperative, which has 93 members.

Suyatno said that while breast milk is best, goat's milk may be used as an alternative to cow's milk.

So long as it is kept sterile, goat's milk is almost the same as cow's milk. Fresh milk must not be left unrefrigerated as it will quickly turn sour and contain bacteria.

In fact, goat's milk has more protein than cow's milk. While it has more calcium than cow's milk, its lactose content is lower.

Suyatno said that, along with other villagers, he had found it difficult to popularize the joys and benefits of drinking goat's milk. "Perhaps, people have been drinking cow's milk for too long. In my opinion, however, goat's milk is as nice as cow's milk," he said.

To look at, goat's milk is just like ordinary milk. Unless you were told, you would not realize that what you have just drunk is goat's milk.

Kemiri Kebo goat breeders do not just sell the milk from their animals. They also process it into instant or powdered milk in various flavors, or turn it into food products, caramel and so on.

With guidance from local animal husbandry and health officials, breeders are continuously maintaining and trying to improve the quality of their milk. Powdered goat milk, for example, is available in a wide range of flavors, including coffee, chocolate, pandanus and ginger.

The cooperative produces 300 packets of goat milk taffy and 350 packs of powdered goat milk a month. These products are sold in Sleman and Yogyakarta.

A 500-gram packet of goat's milk taffy costs Rp 3,000 while a 250-gram pack of powdered goat's milk is sold for Rp 5,000.

Today, Suyatno said, the monthly turnover from selling taffy, powdered and fresh milk stands at some Rp 8 million. "Our initial investment, including the goats, reached hundreds of millions rupiah. To our cooperative, this investment is big enough," he said, revealing a sense of pride.

Cooperative management member Sambyah said that some people believed goat's milk could cure asthma. Usually, these people purchase fresh milk direct from the dairy.

It is difficult, however, to prove that goat's milk can help asthma suffers. The best explanation is that the milk contains all the nutrients that the human body needs. To asthma sufferers, a complete supply of nutrients is important to reinforce their body's endurance. Once the body's endurance is beefed up, all diseases, including asthma, are easier to cure.

Suwandi Aziz, an officer at the Slemen district animal husbandry office said that goat's milk had a higher level of solid material content, including protein, than cow's milk.

He noted that goat's milk also had more essential amino acids than a growing baby needs. This is also true of its mineral content (phosphorus and calcium). However, this excessive amount does not endanger a baby's health.

Goat's milk also has enough vitamins for babies. In short, it is good for small children, particularly those who have finished weaning.

Goat's milk may be used as supplement to breast milk. One disadvantage of it is that it does not have enough folic acid. So, if a baby drinks only goat milk it will suffer from folic acid deficiency and develop anemia, he said.

Goat's milk must be warmed before it is drunk. It must go through some kind of processing and must never be drunk fresh. It must also be diluted to minimize the dangers that may be brought about by its excessive mineral content.

The biggest hurdle for the cooperative is that goat's milk, unlike cow's, has yet to enjoy wide-scale popularity.

Suyatno said that the cooperative had asked relevant government agencies for an instant milk processing machine. He also hoped that investors would work with goat breeders.