Jennie Grant, City Goats

Goats, chickens and cows were common in cities until the early 1900s, at which time, all across America, they were banished to the rural outlands. Today, the idea of keeping chickens and goats in an urban environment is just beginning to be accepted. How did these changes in attitude come to pass? Jennie Grant, author of City Goats, will discuss how keeping goats led her to ask these questions and how living with her two goats, Snowflake and Eloise, has enriched her life.

Jennie Grant is a stay-at-home mother in Seattle who has become known locally as the founder and president of the Goat Justice League, a citizen action group that worked with the Seattle City Council to legalize keeping goats in the city in 2007. Grant also teaches backyard goat keeping at Seattle Tilth and has been profiled in The Seattle Times as well as in the New York Times and on The Splendid Table.

Since Grant began keeping goats several years ago, she has learned firsthand the remarkable benefits and beauty of keeping goats-and how much healthier and easier to maintain a yard with goats can be, the tolerance levels of neighbors, the health benefits of non-industrial foods, and how interacting with goats inspires a connection with nature.

Village Books Literature Live: City Goats: The Goat Justice League's Guide to Backyard Goat Keeping