2017 FIAPO report revealed that calves were weaned off their mothers’ milk during the first three months at 74 per cent of the 451 dairies surveyed in India. In December, similar malpractices at the dairy farms were unearthed in a video titled Unholy Cattle of India by Bengaluru Brigade for Animal Liberation (BBAL). Indian dairy cooperative society, Amul, filed a case against the person who had uploaded this video for targeting the company by using its advertisements.
To prevent the video from being taken off as well as to expose the hidden cruelty in the dairy industry, today (January 9), Vegan India Movement is organising Tweetathon, where animal rights activists in India will take to Twitter. Vegan activist and co-organiser Amjor Chandran says, “We have been doing tweetathons to make people aware about the cruel truths behind various animal-derived products. We want the video to stay and more people to watch it.”
Chandran feels that Amul wants to silence those championing against cruelty of dairy animals. “Yes, BBAL used a couple of Amul advertisements in the video, but purely as a satirical take on the situation and not to target any single dairy brand,” adds Chandran, who turned vegan in October 2015 after reading an article that claimed consuming milk damaged bones, and later learning about dairy malpractices.
Documentary filmmaker Hemant Agarwal feels that Amul should have just issued a statement that they don’t indulge in such activities. “The video wouldn’t have got so much traction if they had not made the complaint,” he adds. Agarwal join veganism in 2015 after reading a comic strip about aliens who had imprisoned females, artificially inseminated them and then killed the male child. “I realised that this is happening in the dairy and poultry industries, too. Then, I read about how being non-vegan is harmful, in a book titled How Not to Die,” he adds.
Sonal, Owner of the vegan ice-cream brand White Cub, feels that Amul’s complaint is logical because the whole dairy industry exists on the myth — milk is vegetarian and it doesn’t involve bloodshed. “If that stands exposed, they lose their soft marketing asset.” A vegan for 14 years now, Sonal witnessed the cruelties in the dairy industry at a very young age. “We had two dairies in the vicinity of my home. The cows would cry all night. In school, I watched Maneka Gandhi’s Head and Tails programme. But I took the decision to go vegan only after my twins were born, who are also vegan now.”
Overall, veganism is on the rise in India. Says Kazem Samandari, Executive Chairman of L’Opéra that just unveiled a vegan range, “A number of vegan cafes have come up really fast. Customers have become more conscious of what they eat, which further increased during the pandemic.” But not without roadblocks. For instance, Chef Ashish Singh, Corporate Chef at Cafe Delhi Heights, made sure to curate an elaborate and interesting vegan menu, because “it is a misconception that vegan food can’t be delicious.” Also, Chef Anas Qureshi of Molecule feels that going vegan is still very limited to the niche market, “though, we are making an effort to spread its popularity with vegan menus.”
Two-year-old venture Loving Hut The Vegan Paradise in Gurugram does Indian, Thai, Chinese, mithais and even vegan bakes. It’s Director, Daisy Pruthi, turned vegan 11 years ago because of her spiritual path. “But while travelling, I found that there was no food for me, and I thought of promoting veganism.” It was a challenge to remove the ‘expensive’ tag from the vegan foods, but she did it, and now makes vegan milk, curd and tofu, despite the long, tedious process these entail.
Long-time vegans feel that plant-based milk alternatives are cost-effective if made at home. “I turned vegan when nobody had thought of having vegan cakes and pizzas, so I feel that people who are determined to be vegan, don’t need commercial alternatives,” adds Sonal.
Vegan beauty brands, like Plum Goodness, are sometimes compelled to use scarcely available and relatively pricey alternates in formulations that increase the cost. “But, we can expect to see the prices normalising as the movement continues to become mainstream,” says Arushi Thapar, Sr Manager, Marketing of the brand.
An FSSAI survey reveals that two out of three Indians drink cow’s milk laced with detergents, urea, caustic soda, paint, among other adulterants, which means even after subjecting the animal to cruelties, the milk that reaches us is not pure, so why even drink it?