American geneticist tours France: And finds goats, cheese, wine, and more goats, more cheese, more wine... and relaxation

摘要

The author, a swine geneticist who raises Oberhasli and Boers in Minnesota, recently traveled to France for the 7th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production (7WCGALP). Associated with the conference, she and her husband took part intwo three-day French live-stock tours-the first from Toulouse to Montpettier through the Midi-Pyrenees and Languedoc-Rousitton regions, and the second from Avignon to Lyon through the Rhone-Alpes region. There are only two major dairy goat breeds in France-the French Alpine (more like the U.S. Oberhasli) and the Saanen. France is the developed country with the highest goat milk production (fifth overall in the world), and all of it is turned into cheese. French per capita cheese consumption is 52 pounds per year, and it isn't just on pizza and cheeseburgers!