A goat is useful to humans both alive and dead, first as a renewable provider of milk and fibre, and then as meat and hide. Some charities provide goats to impoverished people in poor countries, because goats are easier and cheaper to manage than cattle, and have multiple uses. In addition, goats are used for driving and packing purposes.

For instance, the intestine is used to make "catgut", which is still in use as a material for internal human sutures. The horn of the goat, which signifies wellbeing (Cornucopia) is also used to make spoons etc.

Meat

The taste of goat meat is similar to that of lamb meat; in fact, in some parts of Asia, particularly India, the word "mutton" is used to describe both goat and lamb meat. However, some feel that it has a similar taste to veal or venison, depending on the age and condition of the goat. It can be prepared in a variety of ways including stewed, curried, baked, grilled, barbecued, minced, canned, or made into sausage. Goat jerky is also another popular variety. In India, the rice-preparation of mutton biryani uses goat meat as its primary ingredients to produce a rich taste. "Curry goat" is a traditional West Indian dish.

Nutritionally, goat meat is healthier than mutton as it is lower in fat and cholesterol, and comparable to chicken. It also has more minerals than chicken, and is lower in total and saturated fats than other meats.[8] One reason for the leanness is that goats do not accumulate fat deposits or "marbling" in their muscles; chevon (goat meat) must ideally be cooked longer and at lower temperatures than other red meats. It is popular in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, northeastern Brazil, the West Indies, and Belize. Chevon, as yet, is not popular in most western nations, though it is among the fastest growing sectors of the livestock industry in the US.

Other parts of the goat including organs are also equally edible. Special delicacies include the brain (where legal) and liver. The head and legs of the goat may be smoked and used to prepare unique spicy dishes and soup.

One of the most popular goats grown for meat is the South African Boer, introduced into the United States in the early 1990s. The New Zealand Kiko is also considered a meat breed, as is the Myotonic or "fainting goat", a breed originating in Tennessee.

Milk, butter and cheese

Some goats are bred for milk, which can be drunk fresh, although pasteurization is recommended to reduce naturally occurring bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. If the strong-smelling buck is not separated from the does, his scent will affect the milk. Goat milk is commonly processed into cheese, goat butter, ice cream, cajeta and other products.

Goat milk can successfully replace cow milk in diets of those who are allergic to cow milk.  However, like cow milk, goat milk has lactose (sugar) and may cause gastrointestinal problems for individuals with lactose intolerance. It also contains a form of Casein, a Protein in all Mammal's milk.

Goat's milk is naturally homogenized, which means the cream remains suspended in the milk, instead of rising to the top, as in raw cow's milk. If the milk is kept scrupulously clean, it can be drunk raw, greatly improving the benefits.

Many dairy goats, in their prime, average 6 to 8 pounds of milk daily (roughly 3 to 4 quarts) during a ten-month lactation, giving more soon after freshening and gradually dropping in production toward the end of their lactation. The milk generally averages 3.5 percent butterfat. A doe may be expected to reach her heaviest production during her third or fourth lactation. It is also said that "formula derived from goats' milk is unsuitable for babies who are lactose intolerant as it contains similar levels of lactose to cow's-milk-based infant formulae."

Goat butter is white (compared to yellow butter from cow's milk) because the goats produce milk with the yellow beta-carotene converted to a colorless form of vitamin A.

Goat cheese is known as chèvre in France, after the French word for "goat". Some varieties include Rocamadour and Montrachet. Feta is a well-known Greek variety that may be made with a blend of goat and sheep milk.

Fiber

Some goats are bred for the fiber from their coats. Most goats have softer insulating hairs nearer the skin, and longer guard hairs on the surface. The desirable fiber for the textile industry is the former, and it goes by several names (mohair, fleece, goat wool, cashmere, etc., explained below). The coarse guard hairs are worthless as they cannot be spun or dyed. The proportion and texture varies between breeds, and has been a target of selective breeding for millennia.

The Cashmere goat produces a fiber, cashmere wool, which is one of the best in the world. It is very fine and soft. Most goats produce cashmere fiber to some degree, however the Cashmere goat has been specially bred to produce a much higher amount of it with fewer guard hairs.

The Angora breed produces long, curling, lustrous locks of mohair. The entire body of the goat is covered with mohair and there are no guard hairs. The locks constantly grow and can be four inches or more in length. Angora crossbreeds, such as the pygora and the nigora, have been created to produce mohair and/or cashmere wool in a smaller, easier-to-manage animal.

Goats do not have to be slaughtered to harvest the wool, which is instead shorn (cut from the body) in the case of Angora goats, or combed, in the case of Cashmere goats. However, the Angora goat usually gets shorn twice a year with an average yield of about 10 pounds while the Cashmere goat grows its fiber once a year and it takes about a week to comb out by hand, yielding only about 4 ounces.

The fiber is made into products such as sweaters and doll's hair. Both cashmere and mohair are warmer per ounce than wool and are not scratchy or itchy or as allergenic as wool. Both fibers command a higher price than wool, compensating for the fact that there is less fiber per goat than there would be wool per sheep.

In South Asia, cashmere is called "pashmina" (from Persian pashmina, "fine wool") and these goats are called pashmina goats (these well-fleeced animals are often mistaken for sheep). Since these goats actually belong to the upper Kashmir and Laddakh region, their wool came to be known as "cashmere" in the West. The pashmina shawls of Kashmir, with their intricate embroidery, are very famous.

(sourced: wikipedia)