This paper compares the importance of the nutritional value vs. the role of secondary compounds in determining goats' dietary preferences. It is demonstrated quantitatively that minimizing tannin ingestion is perhaps more important for goats than maximizing the nutritional content of the diet. However, since goats must gather 1.5-2.0 DM/day for maintaining productivity, their diet is a compromised result of forage abundance, high nutritional value and low content of anti-nutritional compounds.