A Critical Evaluation Of Cattle In India

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Harris’ Take on The Indian Cattle Complex There exist a variety of interesting cultural reverances that, upon experiencing the unique customs, have puzzled outsiders for thousands of years. An example of this phenomenon that still exists today is the sacred nature of cattle to Hindus in India. Cows were originally seen in the Hindu religion to be a source of plenty; they produce milk, they can plow fields and perform heavy labor, and they hold special significance to orthodox Hindu families. Many economists have examined the impact of these cattle to determine whether the longstanding policy of not killing cattle remains profitable in this day and age. Some contend that the actual numbers of cattle compared to the feed they eat show that there exist a gross overpopulation of cattle. They furthermore state that these animals are more of an economic burden on the agriculturally based societies than a boon because they do not even come close to producing enough milk for their economic value to justify their religious protection from being consumed for nutritional benefit. In his article, “The Cultural Ecology of India’s Sacred Cattle,” Marvin Harris seeks to debunk the idea that cows are actually counterproductive to the economic development of India. Harris begins his argument by claiming that milk production alone cannot be used to measure the productivity of cattle. He acknowledges that, “[milk production statistics] should not be used to prove that cows are useless or uneconomic, since milk production is a minor aspect of the sacred cow’s contribution to the eco-system.” This remains an integral part of his argument because although he admits that milk production of european cows far exceeds that of most indian cattle (5,000 units as opposed to 438 units), there are other economic factors Harris draws the reader’s attention to in order to prove his
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