What is more precious – Cattle wealth or Forex?

1. What is more precious – Cattle wealth or Forex? WHY MEAT EXPORT SHOULD BE BANNED? Read …Understand …Awake…Act

2. Do you know … • That the killing inflation is the result of mass scale destruction of our cattle wealth? • That ever increasing prices of foodgrains, vegetables, milk, ghee etc. is the result of cattle slaughter? • That shift from Cattle based agriculture to Machine based agriculture has put enormous burden on farmers & economy?

3. Do you know… (Cont) • That 16 kgs. of foodgrains are required to be fed to an animal for formation of 1 kg of meat in its body ... thus promotion of meat eating itself results in creating shortage of foodgrains? • That cattle slaughter has… • Increased cost of producing foodgrains manifold? • Reduced nutrition in food and increased chronic diseases? • Increased pollution & poison in food?

4. How much the nation can benefit from protection of cattle wealth? • Annual subsidy of Rs.1,30,000 Cr. given for chemical fertilizers & Rs.45,000 Cr. for food can be substantially reduced • Annual saving of Rs.60,000 Cr. spent on fuel (Kerosene / Gas) by 12 Cr. families staying in rural India by using freely available dung cakes as fuel [Assuming rural population as 60 Cr. People (50% of total population) i.e. 12 Cr. Families (assuming 5 persons in family) spending at least Rs. 5000/- p.a. on Kerosene / Gas]

5. Benefit from protection of cattle wealth... (cont) • Huge saving of forex which is spent on import of chemical fertilizers, diesel, petrol • Comparing the calorific value of firewood and dung fuel, one buffalo’s dung can save 6 trees in a year, which are fell for firewood in rural areas! • Huge savings in petrol & diesel consumption in rural areas by using cattle based transportation

6. Benefit from protection of cattle wealth... (cont) • Saving the fertile land of the country from becoming barren lands due to replacement of dung manure by chemical fertilizers • Saving about six lacs decentralized wealth generating, self-sufficient centres viz. villages, revolving around agriculture and Animal Husbandry related village industries.

7. Can cattle based economy control Inflation & Rising prices? …Yes • By keeping cost of producing food grains to very low level • By using freely available dung for organic manure in place of costly chemical fertilizers • By using bullocks for ploughing farms in place of diesel driven tractors • By using cattle based mode of transportation in place of petrol / diesel driven vehicles • By using freely available cattle urine in place of costly & poisonous pesticides

8. Controlling Inflation & Rising prices... (Cont) • By using freely available dung cakes for fuel in rural areas in place of costly fuels like kerosene, Gas etc. • By using freely available dung ash for cleaning utensils in place of costly detergent powders • By using freely available dung to be used as one of the input for housing in place of costly cement in rural areas • By making available nutritious fresh milk & pure ghee at low cost • By making available Panchgavya for cheaper & effective ayurvedic medicines in place of costly allopathic medicines

9. Cattle are so useful ! Let it be ….Govt. Policies are still not inclined for its preservation … Read on ... • There are approximately 3,600 legal and authorized slaughter houses in the country • There are more than 25,000 unregistered slaughter houses in the country • 30 mega export-oriented private sector slaughter houses have been set up during the last 15 years and many more are in pipeline • The 12th Five Year Plan envisages setting up of many more mega slaughter houses throughout the country

10. Why is it so ? • Because India is an agricultural economy with 70% population still living in Rural areas and cattle is still the backbone of Indian Agriculture … • And Western powers guided policies appear to be … • keen on breaking this backbone of Indian agriculture... • thereby inflicting permanent economic slavery on this nation • And International forces have been directing from back door Indian Govt. to frame policies in that direction … • And one such policy framed by the Indian govt. is MEAT EXPORT POLICY

11. MEAT EXPORT POLICY -HOW IT ORIGINATED? • There was a serious problem of Foreign Exchange Reserve in the year 1991-92… • Country’s gold reserves had to be mortgaged, endangering national pride…. • Government was looking for all possible avenues to earn foreign exchange • And identified MEAT EXPORT as one of the thrust areas…

12. WHAT’S WRONG WITH MEAT EXPORT POLICY?…… Everything ! • It’s a policy framed under influence of western ideas having widely different culture where … • Cattle is considered to be a commodity • And objective of cattle rearing is to extract milk as long as possible & then meat by slaughtering it. Whereas in India… • Cattle is considered to be a family member • And objective of cattle rearing is to get dung, urine, bullocks & Milk (in that order !)

13. WHAT’S WRONG WITH MEAT EXPORT POLICY? (cont…) ARTICLE 19 (1) (g) By snatching away employment of lacs of people dependent on cattle related activities • Meat export violates many Constitutional provisions. ARTICLE 39 (b) 39 (c) By concentrating means of production and concentration of wealth in a few hands ARTICLE 47 By making agriculture costly, food grains unaffordable and depriving nutrition to large masses MEAT EXPORT VIOLATES ARTICLE 48 By encouraging large scale slaughter instead of preserving and improving the breeds of animals ARTICLE 48A By destroying sheep which alone helps in natural growth of forests and by disturbing ecological balance due to depleted cattle ARTICLE 51A By promoting violence in place of compassion, by damaging culture and by destroying balance of nature

14. WHAT’S WRONG WITH MEAT EXPORT POLICY? (cont…) • Meat exporters are only in Private Sector and they are swayed by personal profits in view of enormous earnings involved • No co-ordination amongst the three Ministries involved with the subject of meat export viz. • Ministry of Commerce, which decides the list of items of export • Ministry of Food Processing industries, which facilitates setting up private sector slaughter houses and gives financial support for meat export. Export of meat is eligible for 13 types of subsidies running into hundreds of crores of rupees • Animal Husbandry Department of Agriculture Ministry, which monitors animal population and frames policies resulting in more and more slaughter

15. WHAT’S WRONG WITH MEAT EXPORT POLICY? (cont…) • Absence of any monitoring mechanism in place to examine availability of slaughterableanimals vis-à-vis slaughter capacity created in the country as a whole, both for local consumption and for exports. • Higher & higher targets for meat exports are set in view of meat export being considered as thrust area. Even a Meat Board is set up at the Central level. • No central law to protect useful animals. • Different state laws have different provisions regarding age of slaughterable animals rendering these laws ineffective, when animals cross from one state to the other.

16. WHAT’S WRONG WITH MEAT EXPORT POLICY? (cont…) • Inherent contradiction prevailing in view of International standards for meat requiring slaughter of young & healthy animals, whereas local laws prohibit slaughter of young & healthy animals. Obviously, breach of law prevails. • Having exhausted local animals, most of the export-oriented slaughter houses located in South India procure animals from as far flung areas as HP, Haryana, Punjab, UP, MP etc. Thus, each exporter considers entire country as his hinterland for procuring animals. • In short it is a situation like `free for all’. • There is no serious and independent or impartial study of the impact of this policy on various aspects of economy.

17. WHY MEAT EXPORT POLICY SHOULD BE SCRAPPED? • Government’s own arms have recommended ban on meat export: • Animal Welfare Board of India in its 67th Executive Committee Meeting, in April 1994. • Law Commission of India in its 159th Report in July, 1998. • National Commission on Cattle in its report in the year 2001.

18. WHY MEAT EXPORT POLICY SHOULD BE SCRAPPED? (Cont) • Should we stick to the policy framed in 1991 even if the circumstances have changed? Note that …. • Forex reserves position in 1991-92 was precarious! Whereas forex reserves position in May 2012 is US$ 290 bn. i.e. Rs.16,24,000 crores! • Meat export earns hardly Rs.8,412 crores p.a. which is just 0.30% of total forex reserve and not even 1% of our total yearly exports.

19. WHY MEAT EXPORT POLICY SHOULD BE SCRAPPED? (Cont) • When several other sectors given below have emerged as major foreign exchange earners, why to continue meat export? IT Sector Rs.1,00,000 Crores Gem & Jwellery Rs.70,000 Crores Textiles Rs.60,000 Crores Engineering Rs.50,000 Crores etc. • There is growing awareness about organic food all over the world. India can become a major exporter of organic food if it preserves its animals and uses their dung as organic manure. Higher revenue from export of organic food can offset earnings from meat export manifold.

20. WHY MEAT EXPORT POLICY SHOULD BE SCRAPPED? (Cont) • Note the following data … • India exported roughly 7.09 lakh M.T. of buffalo meat in 2010-11. (it would be more in subsequent years) • Considering average meat yield from a buffalo to be 110 kg., 65 lakh buffaloes were slaughtered in 2010-11 for export only. • A buffalo yields 5.4 M.T. dung in a year, which when composted gives 10.8 M.T. of organic manure. • By slaughter of 65 lakh buffaloes, the country is losing 7.02 crore tons of organic manure. • Considering cost of organic manure @ Rs.1,000/- per ton, the value of 7.02 crore tons of organic manure will be Rs.7,020 crores per year. If the buffalo lives for 5 more years, the manure yield will be 35,000/- crores ! This was lost by one time export earning of only Rs. 8,412/- crores (in 2010-11) IMP

21. WHY MEAT EXPORT POLICY SHOULD BE SCRAPPED? (Cont) • In view of mass scale slaughter of animals, there is drastic fall in animal to human ratio as under: Though beef has been on negative list of export, under the garb of meat, thousands of tons of beef also is exported. The dwindling ratio of cattle despite total ban on female cow slaughter and partial ban on bulls and bullocks almost throughout the country proves this doubt.

22. WHY MEAT EXPORT POLICY SHOULD BE SCRAPPED? (Cont) • There is countrywide resentment against this Policy. • Meat export violates many Constitutional provisions. • Meat export caters to the need of other countries at the cost of our young and healthy animals. • The acute shortage of useful animals has by and large affected the availability & prices of essential commodities such as foodgrains, vegetables, fruits, fresh milk, pure ghee etc. • If earning a few crumbs of foreign exchange is the only criteria, then any and every living creature which can yield profits is liable to be slaughtered and exported. This is a very dangerous trend.

23. BALANCE OF CONVENIENCE TILTS IN FAVOUR OF BANNING MEAT EXPORT (CONTINUE MEAT EXPORT) (BAN MEAT EXPORT) Lacs of persons Retain employment Employment to a few thousand Foreign Exchange Earning of 8412 Cr. Cheaper food grains Organic Farming Free Fuel Compliance with laws etc.

24. Let us Awake, Arise & Ask… • Can western policies be made applicable to Indian conditions & culture where the basic objective of rearing cattle widely differs? • Obvious questions that arise are … • How the government can frame policies which are not in the interest of Indian people, breaking backbone of Indian agriculture? • Whose interest is being taken care of? Ours or foreigners’?

25. Let us awake, arise & ask… (Cont) • Can the Nation’s cattle wealth be frittered away to cater to the economic ambitions of a few or to earn small foreign exchange? • Whose interest weighs higher – that of a handful of meat exporters? Or that of the entire country? • Can the Government formulate a policy which violates fundamental duties under the Constitution to have compassion for all living creatures? • Can the freedom of occupation itself give rise to freedom to kill any animal? Any number of animals? • Can the government, which has to be a role model for observing fundamental duties, be seen as the violator of fundamental duties?

26. An alarm call for the alert citizens of India Make your choice- What you want? A few crumbs of dollars or pounds smeared in the blood & flesh of innocent animals ? and, destruction of national cattle wealth creating permanent damage for satisfying meat eating taste of foreign tongues? OR Saving of the national cattle wealth in the multi-faceted interest of entire nation ?

27. Food for thought • Can production of meat, fish, etc. & killing of animals be termed as ‘farming’ and included under ‘agriculture’? • Can meat production enjoy all the benefits provided by Government to agriculture sector?

28. APPEAL …. . . .To the Government Taking holistic view of the whole situation, we appeal to the government to scrap the meat export policy… . . . And to the people of this country Oppose the Meat Export Policy tooth and nail and do not rest till Meat Export is banned. Send your protest to the

29. Information compiled by …. Viniyog Parivar Trust & Akhil Bharat Krishi Goseva Sangh Contact details : Tel : 022-2898 0749 / 2899 1781 email : info@viniyogparivar.org