Holy Cow!

India is a land of much beauty and spirituality. There are the beautiful places to visit as well as lands that seem to be a toxic mess. You can see the many contradictions that exist here. Colorful, decadent sarees next to a begging lepper walking down the street (I have to admit the vibrant wardrobe of the women here is probably one of the most beautiful things to experience. It makes India at least 50% more beautiful!). A brand new Audi SUV cutting off a bicycle rickshaw.

I had some expectations about the cows before I arrived here. I imagined I would see people feeding, cleaning, petting them and treating them with very much respect. This is because I had heard that hindus believe over 200 Gods live on every cow. With the growing organic movement in India there is also much respect for the cow because of their incredible ability to digest food and create the best compost available. I did not travel all over India, only to about 8 towns/villages, therefore I do not want to generalize about the environment for cows over this enormous country, it may be different elsewhere. In fact, the roads in Goa where I currently am, are much cleaner and there is grass for the cows to roam on.

There are many uses for cow products all over India. People often build homes out of cow dung, straw and cement. It creates a cooling element that withstands the climate. Milk is used to create curd, yogurt, milk and the ever important ghee. Ghee is clarified butter, removing the lactose and leaving just the fat. Ghee is central to Ayurveda. Ayurveda is the ancient spirtitual and medicinal practice of wellness. It looks at homeopathic and naturopathic methods of healing and is based of the idea of doshas being in balance. It is very interesting, if you are intrigued I encourage you to look into it. Most of Northeast India practices vegetarianism, for kindness to all animals. In the south, around Goa and Kerala you might be able to find beef and leather products.

It came to my surprise that the cows here were living in the garbage of the cities, just as much as in the country-side, at times emaciated or with extremely swollen stomachs. I think most people have an idea of India being very polluted and very poor. Certainly this is true of some places here, but there are also some of the most beautiful, such as Guragaon outside of Delhi, parts of Goa and Mumbai too.

There are no enforced standards for emissions leaving heavy hazes and smog, there are also no waste removal services or training on how to properly get rid of waste. Consider for a moment that since television is newer to the average home in India how difficult it is to convey a message. Also consider that the cheapest products tend to be the most unfriendly to the enviroment. This is a lethal combination and it is demolishing the green space in cities such as Delhi, Haridwar and Dehradun.

To create a picture for you, imagine driving over a bridge in a rickshaw, surrounded by smog and heavy beeping traffic, the bridge is covering a riverbed that is dried and completely full styrofoam, plastics, metals as well as scavenging beggars and bovines. Specifically in the north where it does get cool at night, the trash provides insulation and warmth for the cows and people to sleep.

I was also surprised to see how people interact with the cows. There is no doubt that the cows create a large inconvenience and cities like Chennai have already stopped allowing them to freely roam the street. They will stand in the middle of the road all day if you let them.

The purpose of my writing this is to question, is the practice of letting cows roam the cities freely outdated? Does it now pose more of a risk than it does benefit, and is there more harm towards their health in letting them unknowingly consume waste than there is to move them into greener pastures?

I have to agree with the decision to move cows out of cities, or at least confine them to green space for two reasons. 1) The cows are forced to live in an environment that is not natural to them and therefore are eating and drinking things that they normally would not, this is killing them. As people are expanding the city limits and expanding their waste expendature the cows are left with less and less green space. If the proper space for cows to roam safely is not available and they are so sacred, why should their health be risked by putting them in a foreign enviroment? 2) The practice of free roaming cows in the city seems to create more of a problem than a solution. Shop keepers get angry when a cow comes to their stand and trys to taste a product, sometimes the owner will even go as far as to punch the cow in the stomach or the behind to get them to leave. The energy levels of the city cows is very low. Most of the time they lie on the cement or in the garbage. Compared to the cows that I got to work with on the farm who were vibrant and fiesty, the city animals seemed lethargic and disengaged. It was an extremely sad thing to watch. If you didn't look closely or didn't have something to compare their behavior towards, perhaps it would go unnoticed. I am not sure if this is why city dwellers have not caught on.

My intention here is not to put down the systems of India, or to remark at how they could improve. I would just like to speak as an observer. Since the cows and any free roaming animals are left to pick at the garbage, they are infected with many diseases. Plastics are getting stuck in the intestines and bowels of these animals and they are left to suffer and eventually die on the side of the road.

At the Navdanya institute, the farm that Mike and I volunteered at, myself and a few other “bijaks” (seedlings is the translation and it is what they call us as volunteers) have requested that just as Navdanya has been a pioneer for seed and food soverignty not only in India but in the world, that they would also begin to talk about the issues of malnourishment and improper treatment of these sacred animals. Navdanya is an extremely respected organization around the world but the founder Vandana Shiva, hails from Dehradun the capital of Uttarakhand. We hope that people will start brining the issue to the forefront of the conversation. We do believe that this shift could create other shifts towards more vibrant, clean and healthy communities.