What Is Non-Veg Milk That America Wants To Sell In India

The last date of July 9 set by US President Donald Trump for imposing tariffs has now been extended to August 1. Along with this, trade talks are going on between India and America. An interim trade deal is expected from both sides, which can be announced soon. Although America is constantly demanding to open the Indian market for agricultural and dairy products, India has indicated not to bow down for the protection of agriculture and dairy sector.

The Indian government has refused to allow the import of American dairy products, citing cultural concerns over ‘non-veg milk’. With this agreement, trade between the two countries is expected to reach $ 500 billion by the year 2030. According to many media reports, regarding the agricultural sector and dairy products, India has clearly stated that it cannot accept any negotiation directly on this for the safety of its citizens. India wants to impose strict rules for American dairy products to ensure that imported milk is from cows that are not fed animal meat or blood feed.

India has adopted a defensive stance on dairy as this sector provides livelihood to crores of people in the country, most of whom are small farmers. However, the US has called it unnecessary trade barriers. Experts believe that if the talks fail, it is less likely that Trump will re-impose the 26% tariff rate on India. In fact, the US is demanding opening of doors for agricultural and dairy exports to reduce its trade deficit of about $45 billion with India.

However, the Trump administration has sent letters to 23 countries and the deadline for tariffs has been extended till August 1.

What could be the disadvantages of opening the dairy sector?

India’s dairy sector is considered to be an important contributor to the rural economy. According to the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India, 239.2 million tonnes of milk was produced in the country in the year 2023-24. India ranks first in the world in total milk production. India exported 63,738 tonnes of milk products worth $272.6 million in 2023-24. The highest exports are to UAE, Saudi Arabia, America, Bhutan and Singapore.

India has a significant tariff on the import of dairy products. In India, 30 percent tariff is imposed on cheese (a type of cheese), 40 percent on butter and 60 percent on milk powder. This is the reason why it is not profitable to import these products from countries like New Zealand and Australia, while dairy products of these countries are cheaper. If India decides to open its market for American dairy products, it may have to suffer huge losses.

According to a recent report of the State Bank of India, if American dairy products are allowed, then the prices of Indian dairy products will fall by at least 15% and this can cause a loss of Rs 1.03 lakh crore to farmers every year. The report also says that due to opening up dairy products, India can become a milk consumer country from a milk producing country.

What is non-veg milk?

America wants India to buy more dairy products from it but India does not want to do so due to faith and culture. A large population in India is vegetarian and does not consider the milk of cows that eat animal meat-related fodder to be in accordance with their religious beliefs. The milk of such cows is called non-veg milk. In American dairy industries, cows are given such fodder in which animal meat or blood is mixed to increase their weight. This is why it is also called ‘blood meal’. According to an article in the Seattle Times, “The cows are fed feed that contains meat from pigs, fish, chicken, horses and even cats or dogs. And the cattle are fed pig and horse blood for protein and fat from these animals to help them grow.”

What is ‘blood meal’?

According to a report, ‘blood meal’ is a by-product of the meat packing business and is used to feed other animals. After killing animals, their blood is collected and dried to make a special type of feed – this is called ‘blood meal’. It is considered a good source of an amino acid called lysine (one of the nine essential amino acids found in cow protein) and is especially used in the animal husbandry business. ‘Blood meal’ is given regularly in the diet of dairy animals to make them healthy and to produce more milk.

Apart from dairy animals, it is used extensively in the animal husbandry industry. It is used as fertilizer to increase nitrogen. The protein found in the body of cows contains about nine types of essential amino acids, two of which are very important – lysine and methionine. Cows are able to digest amino acids instead of protein, that is why they are fed ‘blood meal’ and corn. While ‘blood meal’ is a source of lysine, corn is a source of methionine.

A research by the University of Minnesota has shown that giving such fodder deteriorates the amount of lysine in the blood. Instead of this, soybean is also a good source of lysine.

‘Blood meal’ is also sold for farming on many online e-commerce platforms in India. According to a website named Feedipedia, making ‘blood meal’ reduces the waste of slaughterhouses and reduces pollution, but experts believe that the process of drying blood can consume a lot of electricity.

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