Desi cow milk best bet for health

Chennai: Jallikattu supporters emphasise that with the ban on the sport, along with the decline of the native breeds of bulls, the production of milk from foreign-bred cows, said to cause neurological disorders in humans, will increase.

"It is a known fact that the milk from a species is suitable only for consumption by the offspring of that species. On consuming milk, hormones of the species which flow into the milk enter our bodies too," said Dr Ravindranath, of Doctors Association for Social Equality.

"Also, to improve the quantity of milk produced, the cows are injected with hormonal injections, like oxytocin, which is dangerous for humans," he said.

According to him, it is nature's law that every indigenous species blends in its environment. "Our bodies are tuned to suit food grown in our regions than that is being grown and imported, same about milk. Milk from indigenous cows will benefit us more than from those from foreign breeds," he said.

"Today, with increased cases of addition of chemicals like hydrogen peroxide and detergents to milk," he said, "Government should have an increased scrutiny on milk production."

Jallikattu activist Karthikeya Sivasenapathy said: "Jallikattu is a sport which is won by the healthiest bull. The bull that wins is allowed to mate with village cows in their heat period. This is nothing unusual, but choosing the fittest for the survival of the progeny and it is also done in labs all over the world, take for instance poultry, where selective breeding takes place."

Recollecting stories from ancient eras, he exemplified princesses who used to choose the strongest men to marry. "Similarly, the strongest bull is made to mate with cows while the rest are castrated and used for farm work."

He added that the ratio of cows to bulls is 30:1, which is skewed, so jallikattu is essential to ensure that cows mate with the strongest bull and give healthy offspring.

He added, "A1 milk, from foreign-bred cows, which is being sold in India has BCM7, which is toxic to our bodies."

"Countries like Brazil and Netherlands have started breeding Indian cows and here we are stuck with the foreign breeds," he lamented. "I am against animal cruelty. There were instances of cruelty especially before 2009. The wrongdoer should be punished, not the sport.”

Organic milk now at click of mouse
With people getting to know the harms of packet milk, sellers of organic milk are booming online in cities like Chennai.

“Due to hydrogen peroxide being mixed in packet milk even from brands like Aavin, I am unable to make curd. Consuming milk is becoming more of a harm,” said a housewife.

Many sites, like that of Nandhaa dairy farm, sell a litany of organic products online including cent percent pure ‘desi’ milk, which people in Chennai have been demanding after news of chemicals in milk, and issues like lactose intolerance started coming to fore.

“We have 25 cows of the Gir breed, which are milked and the milk is sold from farms. We began operations in Chennai 10 years back, and there has been a good demand for milk,” said Sathish Kumar R, proprietor at Nandhaa dairy farm.