Brokelyn

“Is there really a certain crew of Brooklyn foodies who would eat baby anything grilled up and served on toast as long as the condiments came from a coveralled hipster’s “sustainable” farm upstate?”

Yes. A pretty large crew. But only if they don’t have to witness the slaughter (maybe the butchering if it’s done by Tom Mylan, but not the slaughter).

By the way, your link is broke.

or broken if you prefer english…..

thanks… it’s fixed!

Baby goat has been a traditional food of Southern Italy and Greece for centuries. If you are not of the veal or lamb persuasion, this is probably equally unappetizing to you, but its not some new foodie trend.

Well it is… but there’s also something beyond that. But the Church of Stop Shopping and whole sustainable farm angle probably scared all the Greeks and Italians away anyways.

(PS – it tastes completely different than full-grown goats)

I thought it was a joke!

No, it’s real! (but here they’re called “young” goats…) http://thegreenhorns.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/june-20-greenhorns-goat-spit-throwdown-menu/

I’m no goat expert, but when I was in college I knew some people with a small herd of goats. They used them for milk and food, and the sad fact is that the dudes were eaten pretty early in the game. They don’t produce milk, and they get aggressive and start butting everyone who walks into the field at a certain age. Also, you don’t want them breeding with their sisters, and they will. I think the wording of this event is a little weird- on toast?- but the consumption part seems pretty much par for the course.

I dunno, if you’re raising the animal for food what does the age matter? The thing is, young animals can be especially tender. I’m thinking of sucking pig, for example. Delicious. And lamb? So yummy. C’mon, embrace your inner pagan. And by the way, that goat was sustainably raised, even if for only a short time.

It still rubs me the wrong way. And I’m not generally a wet blanket. Some of these foodist types strike me as unbearably precious and superior, so when I imagine them thinking how righteous they are standing around a baby goat on a skewer it turns my stomach.

I think this “feeling righteous” bit is an interesting problem. Part of it arises from genuine passion for the ethics behind sustainable/local food practices.

But it also seems like we’re uncomfortable with really enjoying the physical pleasures of eating, especially eating anything meat-based or expensive, so we grab some good ethics and it relieves our Puritanical squeamishness (well, not mine, I’m Mexican). I wish locavores didn’t have this reputation. I always say, and will continue to say, this food movement should be as much about fun and pleasure as it is about sustainability and justice.