Indian Cow Slaughter Policies and Food Journeys (Vikram Doctor)
Vikram Doctor of The Times of India wrote such an informative comment on the ironies and contradictions of beef politics in India that I asked his permission to post it.
Beef Shop on Tiretta Bazaar Street, Kolkata, 2013. Wikimedia, Biswarup Ganguly.
Thanks Rachel for the link to my cashew milk column. It was meant as a lighter response to the really difficult issue of beef politics in India. It´s a subject that one has to approach with caution since it brings out some pretty strong passions, and I’ve done it in the past and will post a link. Cashew milk was just a lighter way to do it (and cashew milk is delicious).
But beef in India does give a link to the issue of food journeys because the absurdity of policies on cow slaughter force the animals into some pretty long and painful journeys. Because the restrictions on slaughter are very strong in many states, but the imperatives for the trade, both from the point of view of farmers who need the money and the meat processors who want the beef, mean that the animals must go in covered trucks (to avoid detection) long distances to a place where they can be slaughtered for export.
Many animals head to West Bengal since from there they can be walked over the border to Bangladesh where the demand for Indian beef is high (West Bengal is more relaxed about beef so there is less reason for concealment there). But it is all a semi illegal trade and you can imagine it generates a lot of bribes and general ill-treatment for the poor animals who are moved around in the worst possible conditions.
The irony is that all this is the result of laws designed to ‘protect’ the animals. But the anti cow slaughter brigade and the animal rights activists like the Indian wing of PETA and other groups don’t want to be distracted by such realities in their quest for appearing to stop cow slaughter.
And do read his “Beef It Up, If You Can!” which has lots more details on the perennial issue of beef in India, contemporary legislation, and its fallout.
http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/onmyplate/entry/beef-it-up-if-you
