A Sheepish Presence
Sheep are, I feel, an under utilized animal in America. Here, we have an insatiable appetite for meat and milk, and where other countries rely more heavily on sheep to fulfill those needs, in the U.S. we rely on cows. I can attest to this, as I have known or known of several farmers who raised cattle (in fact my mother’s side of the family raised dairy cattle), but I have only known of two people who kept sheep, and even then as a hobby. This is unfortunate, given not only the versatility of sheep, but also how ingrained they are in our culture.
Most folks familiar with The Bible probably know that sheep play at least some central role in Judeo-Christian doctrine. Sheep feature heavily in Old Testament stories. Isaac was spared sacrifice at the hand of his father by a ram whose horns were caught in a nearby bush. Moses’ encounter with the famed burning bush was prompted by an attempt at rescuing a lamb from it. The blood of the Passover lamb, sprinkled on the doors of the Israelites, spared them the lives of their firstborn. The great King David was a herder of sheep. In the New Testament, Christ is called the Lamb of God. In the book of Revelation, it is the slain lamb alone--again, signifying the Son of God--who is worthy of opening the scroll.
Sheep are also often present in our common speech. A person can be said to be as “gentle as a lamb.” One can also be sheepish, or shy. Anyone who has spent any time on forums or comment sections online has certainly--at one point or another--run across the term “sheeple,” used to refer to the masses who blindly follow whatever is popular.
Sheep are not typically featured in common American cuisine. Often, lamb is seen as a strange food, and the mention of “sheep’s milk” is enough to get many to stick out their tongues in disgust. Don’t even try to mention making cheese out of the stuff. Again, this is too bad, as most sheep tend to be raised in a far healthier manner than their bovine counterparts. Lamb, therefore, tends to have more nutritional value, and sheep’s milk is often healthier and safer than the cow’s milk one can buy from the grocery store.
Even clothing made from sheep are typically shunned in the U.S., with many marketers having to ensure that wool products contain at least some merino wool, a variety which is softer and considered more luxurious than “just plain wool.” True, wool is notoriously itchy (though this can easily be mitigated by simply wearing a light shirt under, say, a sweater), but it also is far more comfortable to wear than cold-weather clothing made out of artificial materials, most of which tend to be simply different types of plastic. I am apt to comparing wearing acrylic sweaters to wearing a garbage bag, as I find both to bear about the same breathability and therefore comfort level.
But hey, full disclosure: I love sheep, so I'm at least a little biased. I think wool is the ideal fabric--I slept like a baby under my recycled felted wool G.I. blanket when I was in training. UGGs are perhaps the best thing to come out of Australia. In fact, speaking of Australia, the first dish that I cooked in my Sydney suburb apartment was lamb shanks with a red wine vinaigrette reduction, served on a party paper plate. I am not put off in the least by lamb or sheep's milk--I know a good thing when I see it!
It is promising, then, to see the rise of homesteaders in this country over the past couple of years--ones who see the utility of sheep and are willing to raise a few on their own property. Hopefully the sort of renewed interest in sheep will bring about a resurgence in their popularity. Then, perhaps, they can feature as prominently on our dinner plate as they do in our traditional culture.
Most folks familiar with The Bible probably know that sheep play at least some central role in Judeo-Christian doctrine. Sheep feature heavily in Old Testament stories. Isaac was spared sacrifice at the hand of his father by a ram whose horns were caught in a nearby bush. Moses’ encounter with the famed burning bush was prompted by an attempt at rescuing a lamb from it. The blood of the Passover lamb, sprinkled on the doors of the Israelites, spared them the lives of their firstborn. The great King David was a herder of sheep. In the New Testament, Christ is called the Lamb of God. In the book of Revelation, it is the slain lamb alone--again, signifying the Son of God--who is worthy of opening the scroll.
Sheep are also often present in our common speech. A person can be said to be as “gentle as a lamb.” One can also be sheepish, or shy. Anyone who has spent any time on forums or comment sections online has certainly--at one point or another--run across the term “sheeple,” used to refer to the masses who blindly follow whatever is popular.
Sheep are not typically featured in common American cuisine. Often, lamb is seen as a strange food, and the mention of “sheep’s milk” is enough to get many to stick out their tongues in disgust. Don’t even try to mention making cheese out of the stuff. Again, this is too bad, as most sheep tend to be raised in a far healthier manner than their bovine counterparts. Lamb, therefore, tends to have more nutritional value, and sheep’s milk is often healthier and safer than the cow’s milk one can buy from the grocery store.
Even clothing made from sheep are typically shunned in the U.S., with many marketers having to ensure that wool products contain at least some merino wool, a variety which is softer and considered more luxurious than “just plain wool.” True, wool is notoriously itchy (though this can easily be mitigated by simply wearing a light shirt under, say, a sweater), but it also is far more comfortable to wear than cold-weather clothing made out of artificial materials, most of which tend to be simply different types of plastic. I am apt to comparing wearing acrylic sweaters to wearing a garbage bag, as I find both to bear about the same breathability and therefore comfort level.
But hey, full disclosure: I love sheep, so I'm at least a little biased. I think wool is the ideal fabric--I slept like a baby under my recycled felted wool G.I. blanket when I was in training. UGGs are perhaps the best thing to come out of Australia. In fact, speaking of Australia, the first dish that I cooked in my Sydney suburb apartment was lamb shanks with a red wine vinaigrette reduction, served on a party paper plate. I am not put off in the least by lamb or sheep's milk--I know a good thing when I see it!
It is promising, then, to see the rise of homesteaders in this country over the past couple of years--ones who see the utility of sheep and are willing to raise a few on their own property. Hopefully the sort of renewed interest in sheep will bring about a resurgence in their popularity. Then, perhaps, they can feature as prominently on our dinner plate as they do in our traditional culture.