Despite the much larger volume available of cow
milk, its much cheaper production usually and therefore lower market price, the production and marketing
of goat milk and its products is therefore an essential niche in the total dairy industry sector. Especially
the third aspect of demand for goat milk, the medical
need, deserves in depth discussion and documentation,
as it is widely accepted in practice and in anecdotal
publications, but sparsely treated with biomedical research. Yet such research is essential for the future
of the dairy goat industry, in developing as well as
in developed countries. The question is asked, why
produce and why buy goat milk? And it can only be
answered satisfactorily, when there is convincing evidence for a special value of goat milk in human nutrition and well being. This paper is trying to review such
evidence.