THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Holy cow! Weaning a billion Indians off the udder won’t be easy 

Holy cow! Weaning a billion Indians off the udder won’t be easy 

Re: “Milking the issue”, Have Your Say, September 16.

Eric Bahrt suggests that everyone stop drinking milk, as we don’t need it. Well, good luck with that. Products derived from milk such as ghee and yoghurt are essential ingredients in the staple diet of over one billion people in India and elsewhere, and 40 per cent of the Chinese population now consume milk, a figure which will surely continue to increase. It’s going to require a huge increase in the production of soybeans and almonds to replace the cows’ milk these multitudes demand in one form or another, or the manufacture of synthetic alternatives, all of which will have an environmental impact.
As regards being abusive, well, according to Mr Bahrt I am a “glutton”, and that is indeed an abusive term, if used incorrectly. It describes not what one eats, but how one eats, and how much, but maybe Mr Bahrt doesn’t understand that not-so-subtle difference.
Finally, of course I did not use the term “predatory” in a literal sense, but in a light-hearted way to construct an example of alliteration to make a serious point about PETA’s ultimate objective, the ending of pet ownership. However, I suppose folks who are committed to a particular cause might not appreciate that cause being the subject of levity. That’s a pity, we all need a good laugh now and again.
Robin Grant
Bangkok

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