The 2007 forecast is for 72.2 million pounds.
Muslim Immigrants from Africa and Asia are one source of this demand increase. These immigrants tend to be very picky about their goat meat and want assurances that the goats have never been in a feedlot and have been raised strictly on browse. The Muslims fear that feedlot operators will feed the animals religiously prohibited feeds and so purposely seek out browse-fed goats.
We don’t slaughter any animal that has been in a feedlot, said Ahsan Mohyuddln, the owner of Midwest Halal Meats in Perryville, Missouri. Meat from young goats are used for both religious and personal celebrations.
For example, a Muslim will typically buy two goats if his new baby is a boy or one goat if it is a girl. The goats must be killed by an observant Muslim in the proper manner with a sharp knife drawn across the throat. These are called zabiha goats.
Under Islamic law, one third of each animal is to be donated to a Muslim charity, usually a local mosque, which will pass the meat along to families in need. In the St. Louis area, goat meat typically retails for $4.00 a pound at the small independent grocery stores that serve the Muslim community.
This would be the equivalent $160 to $180 a head on a live weight basis.
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