ICMR study to focus on milk link to range of diseases

Grasslands in India dwindle from 12.04m hectares to 10 million hectares

Chennai:

After an international study highlighted the link between a protein in the milk produced by Western breed of cows and a range of serious illnesses, Indian Council of Medical Research is now conducting a systematic study on this aspect.

 

G C Pati, Union secretary of department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries told reporters during the plenary session of National Workshop on ‘Capacity Building for Skill development and Self-Employment in Livestock Poultry and Fisheries sector’ that the Indian government is giving priority on developing indigenous cattle breed and a systematic research is being conducted by ICMR following reports that health problems are linked to a tiny protein fragment that is formed when one digests A1 beta-casein, a milk protein produced by many cows in the United States and Western nations.

 

Milk that contains A1 beta-casein is commonly known as A1 milk; milk that does not is called A2. Interestingly, the milk from Indian cow is A2 milk.

 

The book ‘Devil in the Milk Illness, Health, and the Politics of A1 and A2 Milk’ by Keith Woodford examines the link between a protein in the milk we drink and a range of serious illnesses, including heart disease, Type 1 diabetes, autism, and schizophrenia. It brings together the evidence published in more than 100 scientific papers.

 

Pati said that in India nearly 50 per cent cows are exotic while the remaining are indigenous varieties. Activists have hit out at the government over trying to import the cows from Europe and other Western nations that produce A1 milk while ignoring Indian breed of cows.

 

Pati also said the government is now conducting a census of livestock and a final report will be submitted on August this year.

 

He also said that pastures and grasslands, which were spread over an area of about 12.04 million hectare area has dwindled to 10.5 million hectare area due to rising urbanization. Pati also said that his department has targeted a growth of five to six per cent in the livestock, poultry and fisheries sector under the 12th plan