ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Board of Trustees of the Love 4 Cow Trust place on record their gratitude with great sense of appreciation to all the dignitaries, the speakers, the guests and the sponsors for their guidance and support to this initiative to bring out the virtues of the cow milk from the health and nutrition angle. The success of the Workshop is because of you all.

The summary recommendations of the Workshop are published in this document. We do hope that this effort will find used for the health and nutrition planners, administrators and public in large who care for the health of this nation.

SUMMARY RECOMMENDATIONS

Love 4 Cow Trust, a registered public charitable Trust has organized a one-day National Workshop on the theme of "Cow Milk is Amrit" on 7th July, 2002 (Sunday) at India International Centre (IIC), Lodi Estate, New Delhi-110003. This was to bring out the virtues of cow milk with focus on health and nutritional aspects.

The Workshop was inaugurated by Shri Om Prakash Chautala, Hon'ble Chief Minister, Haryana and was presided by Justice Guman Mal Lodha, Chairman, Animal Welfare Board of India and acting Chairman of National Commission on Cattle. Shri Som Pal, Member, Planning Commission, Justice J. Ishwari Prasad, Shri H.S. Hans Pal presently President, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and representative of Namdhari Sikhs were the special guests. Mrs. Binoo Sen, presently Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Department, Dr. S.C.L. Gupta, President, Delhi Medical Association, and Shri Kamlesh Dixit, Director Times of India Group were the guests of honour.

Mrs. Asha Swami, President, Love4Cow Trust read the welcome address. The velidictary session was chaired by Shri Sunil Mansinghka, Go Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra, Nagpur. The speakers who delivered their talks were:
Bio-Protective role of Cow milk in Human health -Dr V K Kansal, Principal Scientist,National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal; Medicinal use of cow milk in Ayurveda- Vaidya Shri Vivekanand Pandey, National Consultant, Reproductive Child Health Care; Cow's milk in infant feeding- Dr Ashok Dutta, Director & Professor and HOD Pediatrics, Kalawati Saran Children Hospital, Lady Harding Medical College, New Delhi; Cow's milk a novel source of microbial wealth- Dr C S Nautiyal, Head Micro-Biology Division,National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow; Our Scriptures on cow milk- Shri I.K.Narang, Deptt. of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India; Cow milk is a part of balanced diet- Ms Kiranjeet Kaur, Dietician, Guru Nanak Eye Care Centre, New Delhi; Fodder and Feed- Shri Ramesh Rawal, Sr. Vice President,BAIF Development Research Foundation; Specialty of Indian breeds of cows-A perspective- Dr. Bhushan Tyagi, Assistant Livestock Officer, Deptt. of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India

The Workshop was attended by the officers of the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Non-Conventional Energy, Doctors, Medical Practitioners of Indian System of Medicines, Members/Representatives of the National Commission on Cattle, Animal Welfare Board of India, Goshalas and the cow lovers.

All the speakers including guest speakers underlined the importance of cow and cow milk in our day to-day life. It was highlighted that the cow milk was a complete healthy food fit for people of all age groups. Cow milk was sustainable healthy food which could be consumed and easily digested from infants to old age people. The cow milk is a low fat, low calorie, high vitamin and high immunity food. It provided all necessary ingredients which were needed by human body (except iron) for a healthy and energetic life. The Workshop expressed concern that availability of cow milk from a reliable and dependable source was a big constraint. Therefore, effort should be made not only to propagate the essentiality of cow milk as a part of regular diet but also its availability. It was also highlighted that cow milk of indigenous breed was far superior in its content and quality. The Workshop also focused on the availability of quality fodder for cows not only to improve the lactation but also the quality of the milk.

Why Cow's milk is Amrit ?

Cow milk has amino acids which makes its protein easily digestible and is good for kidney. It is a rich source of Vitamins like B2, B3 and A which help increasing immunity. Cow milk help in reducing acidity a common problem today and reduces chances of peptic ulcer and help in reducing chances of colon, breast and skin cancer. Cow milk help reducing formation of serum cholesterol and is one of the best natural anti-oxidants. Cow milk has Potassium which help in development of healthy mind and saves from heart strokes. Cow milk not only help against diabetes but has good sugar for diabetic patients. Low fat content helps one keep fit and to check obesity.Calcium and Phosphorus in Cow milk help in balanced absorption of nutrients and are good for healthy growth specially for children..

After detailed presentations and deliberations the following recommendations emerged in the Workshop:

Cow rearing - a household concept

Go-Palan in India is a household concept. The cow not only provides life giving milk but also contributes to the agriculture and environment. Therefore, cow rearing should be promoted and propagated by all concerned agencies, authorities and NGOs particularly in the rural areas so that health and nutrition requirements of children and women are fully met and they do not depend on supplementary medicinal nutritional programmes. In cities and towns also, people should be allowed to keep cows in their homes if they have enough space and are able to meet the other municipal requirements. There should not be a blanket ban on keeping cows in cities/towns.

Self-employment

Go-Palan can provide economic and food security to the rural people. Efforts should be made to encourage Go-Palan by unemployed youths particularly those in the BPL categories and belonging to SC/ST under the programmes of self employment.

Marketing and availability

The State Cooperative Milk Federations should market the cow milk to meet the requirements of customers who are willing to pay a higher price for pure and quality cow milk . Marketing of cow milk should be taken as a campaign by the cooperative federations and they should establish backward linkages with the rural poor who are engaged in Go-Palan as a source of their livelihood. Multi-national companies should also come out in a big way in marketing cow milk which at least in Metros provides and unexplored space for the product.

Goshalas should endeavor to be reliable and regular source of supply of quality milk for public consumption. There should be no restriction even for Gosadans, Pinjrapoles in keeping milching cows and supplying milk for consumption. This will also help improve financial condition of these institutions.

Pricing

At present, milk is priced on the basis of availability of fat content and not on quality. The cow milk which has been regarded as Amrit because of its nutritive and healthy growth qualities, does not fetch good price because of low fat content. The pricing of cow milk should, therefore, be on the basis of the quality and not fat. Marketing of branded cow milk will help in restoring the real market price levels for cow's milk on its own strength.

Research and documentation

It is an admitted fact that no research for the least 50 years has been carried out on the quality of different breeds of Indian cows. There are references in Ayurveda and Charak Samhita distinguishing the qualities of cow milk depending upon its breed and colour. There is also no research and documentation on the qualities of cow milk of India breeds of cows. It is, therefore, necessary that Rashtriya Govansh Research Centres are opened specifically for the purpose of research and documentation on the qualities of the Indian breed cows and their milk and panchgavya.

Conservation of Indian breeds of cows

At present, there is no sustainable programme where the 100% purity of different breeds of Indian cows is being maintained. The cross breed programme which is now limited only to a few dairies has miserably failed to take off in the country-side because of obvious reasons of economic, environmental and cultural non-viability. However, enough damage has already been done and it is now difficult to look for pure Indian breeds. Therefore, a campaign should be launched through the Central/State Plan schemes so that our own breeds which are drought resistant, heat and cold resistant besides being genetically different are not only conserved and preserved but samvardhan also takes place.

Availability of fodder

Department of Agriculture & Cooperation in Central Government which deals with crop production from where the major fodder requirements are met, is not concerned with the availability and production of fodder. On the other hand, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying which is not concerned with crops or forest and does not regulate land use, has been given the responsibility of fodder production. It is essential that a mechanism for proper integration between the foodgrains and the fodder production besides grazing lands and grazing grass is established. In our culture and tradition stubble feed is an exception.

Public awareness

It was noted in the Workshop that over a period of time, people have forgotten about the scientific and economic contribution of cow to the Indian society. People have very vague idea based on the information obtained through elderly people. It is, therefore, necessary that the scheme are formulated and NGOs supported for promoting and propagating the virtues of cow based on scientific and economic considerations. The Workshop was of the view that if people know the qualities of cow milk then the appropriate demand will be generated which will be in the interest of the health of the nation.

It was decided in the workshop that the programmes should be organized outside Delhi also. Chief Minister, Haryana invited the Trust to hold a programme in his State. Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh has earlier conveyed his government's approval in principal to hold a seminar at Bhopal. The trust is also in correspond to hold a seminar at Bhuvaneswar with Orissa Milk Federation and UNDP.