An act of deception?

How do people normally milk cows?

The owner of the cow puts the calf near its udder. When the calf starts suckling, the mother cow yields milk. Once the udder is full, the owner removes the calf from its mother’s udder. The innocent calf then will be fed with either some rice-water or a mixture of rice water and oil cake or bran.

The cow was hoodwinked to yield milk. A breach of trust. This act is tantamount to exploiting the cow and, more precisely, constitutes cruelty to animals. But will the rice water be an equally nutritious substitute for the calf? No. The affected living being here is not a human, and hence no one cares. This is deception. Through deception, the owner milks his cow. While breastfeeding is encouraged for human infants, this act of deception and breach of trust to an animal goes unnoticed even by animal lovers.

There was an interesting judgment by the Madras High Court some time ago on “artificial insemination on cows”. The court observed that by artificial insemination, humans are denying cows the pleasure and enjoyment they get from natural mating and it needs to be discouraged. Milking a cow through deception should be viewed with equal importance.

The second act of the owner is also dangerous. He gives the milk to his children and other members of his family. Sometimes he sells it. Some people adulterate that milk with materials such as water. Even some State governments are silent “partners in this crime” as they collect and sell cow milk in the market. Some people produce ghee from that milk and sell it as pure cow-ghee. Deception, breach of trust, adulteration of food items, health issues — many things are hidden in this act by a person when he milks the cow. He may not have any intention to commit such crimes but unknowingly this practice goes on everywhere. Breach of trust between a human and an animal is not punishable as of now. Unfair? Maybe.

Who started the practice of milking the cow? Without any lab test, people start consuming milk. I still remember a Malayalam lesson I had learnt when I was a primary class student. Its literal English translation goes like this: “Mom daily gives me boiled milk. If I don’t drink it, mom will cry. Why is mom crying? Because I should grow up like dad. Mom likes that. Milk is required for the growth of the body. Where do we get milk from? We get milk from cows.”

It was an interesting lesson then. Modern mothers won’t cry if their toddlers refuse to drink milk. Instead, they will threaten them by saying., “Drink the milk if you want; else I’ll change the Wi-Fi password.”

Is cow milk a balanced food? Nowadays, a section of doctors says that it is not. People who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome are advised by doctors not to consume milk. Is there a substitute for cow milk? Any milk, be it cow, goat, buffalo, or camel milk, is meant for its offspring, just as human milk is meant for human babies.

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