I have alluded to India's unique cow dynamics before, but it deserves its own post.
Before coming here, I was aware that Hindus considered the cow to be sacred and did not eat beef. That however is only a tiny portion of the story.
The biggest surprise was how cows are just allowed to wander around. Goats, chickens, and other animals move around the cities, though most are clearly marked as somebody's property. Cows, however, just seem to walk around wherever they please. They wander in the middle of the street in traffic, drink out of puddles in medians, and plop down on the sidewalk. Nobody seems to watch or take care of them. They basically forage through the trash for food, though people sometimes throw them scraps of grains. But mostly, they seem independent and have their run of whatever they want to do.
I have asked a number of people about the cows and have gotten widely varied answers. The most reasonable answer I have heard is this: There are two types of cows - milk-giving cows and non-milk-giving-cows. Milk-giving cows (even though it may not seem this way) are owned by someone who milk and feed and generally watch them. But, since it is illegal to kill cows - and cows can't be eaten - when a cow stops giving milk and becomes a non-milk-giving cow, there isn't anything to be done with them. So their owners just let them go free. These cows just wander around town completely on their own.
In terms of dietary impact, since the cow is sacred to Hindus and Muslims (~175M muslims in India) are forbidden to eat pork, essentially zero pork or beef is served in India. Even McDonald's will not sell either beef or pork so as not to offend its Hindu or Muslim customers (Don't worry, the filet-o-fish is on the menu).
Many Hindus are also vegetarians, and almost all Indian restaurants have numerous "veg" and "non-veg" options. The number of vegetarians varies dramatically by state. In some places, like Gujarat state, the number of vegetarians is estimated to be 90%. But all over the country, each time you book a train or plane ticket, you have to specify veg or non-veg.
Every restaurant posts on its sign whether it is a veg or non-veg establishment and a surprisingly (to me) high number are veg only. Our office cafeteria laughed at me when I asked if they had non-veg options. So lunch is either rice with tomato sauce and yogurt or a dosa (a pancake like thing) with potatoes and sauce. Not outstanding.
The only non-veg options that are commonly available are chicken and mutton. Mutton here, however, means goat, not lamb (or dog). But many of the veg options are quite good and I have really enjoyed Indian food overall. I have definitely had many more veg-only days in the past three weeks than I have had in the rest of my life combined - some because there were no alternatives, but a few by choice.
Still though, I am getting on Atkins as soon as I get home.
Before coming here, I was aware that Hindus considered the cow to be sacred and did not eat beef. That however is only a tiny portion of the story.
The biggest surprise was how cows are just allowed to wander around. Goats, chickens, and other animals move around the cities, though most are clearly marked as somebody's property. Cows, however, just seem to walk around wherever they please. They wander in the middle of the street in traffic, drink out of puddles in medians, and plop down on the sidewalk. Nobody seems to watch or take care of them. They basically forage through the trash for food, though people sometimes throw them scraps of grains. But mostly, they seem independent and have their run of whatever they want to do.
I have asked a number of people about the cows and have gotten widely varied answers. The most reasonable answer I have heard is this: There are two types of cows - milk-giving cows and non-milk-giving-cows. Milk-giving cows (even though it may not seem this way) are owned by someone who milk and feed and generally watch them. But, since it is illegal to kill cows - and cows can't be eaten - when a cow stops giving milk and becomes a non-milk-giving cow, there isn't anything to be done with them. So their owners just let them go free. These cows just wander around town completely on their own.
In terms of dietary impact, since the cow is sacred to Hindus and Muslims (~175M muslims in India) are forbidden to eat pork, essentially zero pork or beef is served in India. Even McDonald's will not sell either beef or pork so as not to offend its Hindu or Muslim customers (Don't worry, the filet-o-fish is on the menu).
Many Hindus are also vegetarians, and almost all Indian restaurants have numerous "veg" and "non-veg" options. The number of vegetarians varies dramatically by state. In some places, like Gujarat state, the number of vegetarians is estimated to be 90%. But all over the country, each time you book a train or plane ticket, you have to specify veg or non-veg.
Every restaurant posts on its sign whether it is a veg or non-veg establishment and a surprisingly (to me) high number are veg only. Our office cafeteria laughed at me when I asked if they had non-veg options. So lunch is either rice with tomato sauce and yogurt or a dosa (a pancake like thing) with potatoes and sauce. Not outstanding.
The only non-veg options that are commonly available are chicken and mutton. Mutton here, however, means goat, not lamb (or dog). But many of the veg options are quite good and I have really enjoyed Indian food overall. I have definitely had many more veg-only days in the past three weeks than I have had in the rest of my life combined - some because there were no alternatives, but a few by choice.
Still though, I am getting on Atkins as soon as I get home.
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