The very first mantra in Yajurved says " may our cows be free of TB". The second mantra describes in detail the perquisites of good environments to ensure healthy living conditions.
First is abundance of greenery around, next comes plenty of Sunshine, next is Raw Earth for being tread upon, and finally regular performance of Homa to keep the atmosphere free from air borne infections.
Recent press report from Anand in Gujarat , that 60 HF cows had been found positive in TB tests, is cause for worry about safety of Indian Dairy Milk. Milk of Cows suffering from TB can spread TB to Humans. In Europe and USA there is a system of culling such cows and sending them to slaughter houses. Although the cows suffering from TB in Anand are reported to have been shifted to Ahmadabad, but there no word about what actions are proposed next.
It is a well acknowledged fact that Indian breeds of cows normally have much higher disease resistance than Cross Bred Cows. Mastitis is also a very common problem with HF cows.
These high milk yielding cows also very prone to suffer heat stress under warm Indian climate . Cross bred cows compared to Indian breeds of Cows, not only need very good nourishment but also cooler and more comfortable environment. These special conditions can be provided only in well organized dairy farms. In India by and large our Dairy Industry is based on Milk collection from small rural cattle owners. For small rural farmers to ensure that their cattle are not suffering from TB becomes more difficult under the current Govt Veterinary Breeding programs that only encourage cross breeding of Indian cows with HF breeds. There are also no screening tests for detecting TB infected milk at the milk collection centers. This makes the entire Indian Dairy Milk supply a possible source of transfer of TB to human community.
Already World Dairy scientists have discovered that BCM7 ( Beta Caso Morphine 7)is found in Milk of HF cows. This milk is designated as type A1 and has been found to be strongly linked with very large number of human diseases . Starting from Autism and Pediatric diabetes, Milk of HF cows has also been found to have strong association with occurrence of Cardiac Artery diseases, Diabetes, Arthritis, Arteriosclerosis, Alzheimer, and Parkinson.
Milk of Bos Indicus cattle ie Indian breeds of cows has been reported to immune to these diseases. This milk which is free from BCM7 is designated as type A2 Milk.
Dairy farmers around the world have on their own started breeding their cattle for producing A2 milk.
This susceptibility of HF cross bred cows to higher incidence of Mastitis, TB and higher heat stress, in addition to BCM7 , is a very strong argument to discontinue cross breeding of Indian cows with HF.
Greed for higher milk yield from HF cross bred cows should not be at the cost of spreading more disease in the Indian society. Milk yield of Indian breeds of cows is already being successfully improved upon by better feeds , health care and better veterinary practices.