Future of Milk in India

Milk – Elixir for Healthy Life

Farm Fresh Dairy would always remain close to every Indian’s heart. The reason lies in our upbringing. Our forefathers very well knew the importance of pure milk and other milk products like curd, paneer, desi ghee, butter milk etc. and it was one of the main constituents of the daily diet of growing children and elders alike. Milk is complete food. It provides all the minerals and vitamins needed for an augmented growth and disease resistance. Pure milk indeed, is an elixir for healthy life.

What is the Problem with MILK

Like they say, man is its greatest nemesis. With cities expanding, population burst, decrease in cattle population and production and ever growing desires for profit, people made a mockery of the white revolution. Government agencies reveal that almost 70% of the milk consumed in the country is effected by adulteration that includes cheap milk powders, detergents, chemicals mixed for preservation by uneducated farmers, milkmen and middlemen. Impure water is the largest adulterant of them all. Milk in its natural form is almost 85% water and is prone to adulteration at every stage if its supply chain. Unfortunately, most of it does get adulterated and so does all its by products. Places where adulteration is not rampant, there is lack of cold chain arrangement and milk being a highly perishable product, has a limited window till consumption. To sustain large companies process milk and make SMP (Skimmed Milk Powder) to be used at a later stage as per the market demand. Reprocessing takes the sheen out of milk and what we consume is a processed health drink rather than fresh and pure milk. India is one of the largest contributors of milk in the world with around 20% world production. (read SMP) Thanks to Operation Flood that led to the White Revolution in the country but with constant fall of the international SMP prices and inventory pile up this business isn’t too feasible for large companies. Danone’s exit from Indian Dairy Business is a prominent take away. Large companies are sustaining by decreased payouts to dairy farmers/milk producers whereas cost to the consumer is the same or gradually increased depending on the regional dairy federations/cooperatives. This decrease in procurement price eventually leads to adulteration leaving no scope for the industry to sanitize till the time stringent measures are taken in terms of stricter laws and price correction of dairy products.

Where does India Stand?

Despite being the second largest producer of milk producing around 170 million metric tonnes annually, India’s average consumption per capita is just 300 gms/day. For comparison sake, the US and Europe intake is about 1 Kg/day. Though Dairy farming has deep roots in the Indian culture, this sector has largely remained unorganized. Only respite is the large cooperatives but that is severely marginalized by middlemen and very low cost of procurement making it unsustainable for dairy farmers. Government’s lack of focus on this area is also one of the key reason behind the vulnerable dairy sector with limited schemes which are either out of bound or painstakingly time taking goliath. It is evident since out of thousands of dairy farms operating in the country, 56% are the one with less than 5 cattle and only 2% with a herd size of over 150 whereas the average herd size of farms in the western countries is 150 and above.

Future of Milk in India

Clearly, the solution lies in structuring the dairy sector in India. Fortunately, the sentiment has started responding to it and last few years have seen traction on organized dairy but limited to Metro cities largely due to price vs. demand reasons. Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Pune are the biggest gainers with consumers now having a choice of pure milk, though at a premium price. Tier 2 and 3 cities have to yet to see any traction. There is a new revolution in the offing wherein professionals from a variety of expertise have sensed the silver lining and taken the risk to respond. More and more are joining in and there is a significant increase in large organized dairy farms with cattle capacity of 200 plus animals. Although, catering only to large cities right now.

“Purity is not a luxury but necessity and our children deserve it. Responsibility of a stronger nation lies on their shoulders and they need to be healthy. Adulterated nutrition is their worst enemy. Just as they have right to education, they need to have the right to unadulterated nutrition.” Says Gaurav Chauhan, Managing Director of Aahan Farms Pvt. Ltd., Meerut in the NCR region. There is no cap on the potential of the market. Pure milk & dairy products shouldn’t be the privilege of large cities only, he says; all you need is to ensure quality and purity.

“Aahan means Pure” and Aahan Farms is a Distinctive Agri Based Startup/Initiative of providing farm fresh unadulterated, free of any additive dairy products. Just a sip of milk at the farm and you will understand what Aahan products are about. We ensure our products are delivered farm to family within a few hours after production they receive it absolutely fresh with its natural taste intact, be it Milknjoy Cow or Buffalo Milk, Aahan Farms Pure Desi Ghee, Paneer or Butter. These are the purest dairy products available in this region.

Marketed under the brand name “Milknjoy” it is indeed the “Joy of Milk”. They also have organic fruit orchards where no pesticides or chemicals are used but organic manure to augment unbelievable growth. It’s a state of art modern dairy farm located in picturesque natural stunning surrounding. Visit www.aahanfarms.com or www.milknjoy.com for more details.

A1vsA2milk

Milk is a wholesome diet that both vegetarian and non-vegetarian people consume. There are various nutrients inside milk such as lactose, protein, fat, calcium and other vitamins. There are two types of proteins in milk, whey protein and casein protein. Casein protein is also found in two forms: alpha casein and beta casein.

However, beta-casein is also found in two forms; A1 and A2 type. Research by some scientists has shown that A1 type of milk has been found to be associated with heart diseases of the heart. This evidence was found in an animal research that rabbits were given beta-casein A2 in which the amount of cholesterol and thickness of the articular vein got less than those rabbits who were fed beta-casein A1. From this it was concluded that A2 is good milk. Same experiment was done on humans by a scientist named Venn DJ in 2005, in which he fed 62 people in different groups A1 and A2 milk separately for 4 to 5 weeks. In this, he did not find any facts in which it can be said that due to A1 or A2 milk there was an impact on the amount of cholesterol in the blood.

What is the A1 and A2 dispute?

Beta-casein is a main protein in milk of cow, buffalo and other animals. It has been learned from various scientific researches that due to selective breeding and mutation for more milk production, different variants of beta-casein have been formed.

Today we know about 15 different beta caseins. The most important of which are A1 and A2. Beta-casein A1 is considered as bad or bad protein whereas there is a difference of just 1 amino acid in A2 protein.

It is important to know beta casein is a protein that is formed by the combination of different amino acids, just as adding bricks to a wall. Amino acids can be considered bricks and protein as the wall.

A1 protein contains the amino acid called Histidine at 67th position, whereas A2 protein has Prolene on that position. A1 beta casein gets digested into the stomach and creates a new protein, which is biologically and physiologically active, which is called beta-caazomorphin. This is considered to be the major factor behind the A1 protein milk-related illnesses.

Is it true that the desi cow is A2 type and foreign cow is A1 type?

Genomic studies have shown that “Bos” genes in which native, foreign cows and yak fall initially used to be A2-A2 type, but due to genetic mutation, some animals developed A1 type genes.

Later, when the selective breeding started, the bulls that were selected for more milk production and protein were inadvertently A1 types. Due to artificial insemination this resulted in faster progeny of A1 cows.

Some surveys have also found that A1 and A2 are area-specific without breed specific, in North America and North Europe, the frequency of A1 in HF cows is more than 90%, while the frequency of A2 in German HF is more than 97%.

Frequency of A1 in HF breed in all other countries 40 to 65%. In Jersey breed, the frequency of A2 is up to 80% whereas in Indian indigenous cows the frequency of A2 is more than 98%.

So it is not true that domestic cows should be favored more because the milk of buffalo or goat is also 100% A2 type.

What do Indian scientists say about this subject?

It can be broadly said that almost all Indian scientists are unanimous on this subject. NBAGR, which is established in the country by the ICAR, has been working on this topic in Karnal since 2009. In its first report, it was stated that the frequency of A2 in Indian cows is up to 98 percent and in some breeds this is 100 percent and all buffaloes give A2 milk.

They examined the foreign cows in India, which showed that they too have genes only of A2 milk. In an article published in 2012, it was reported that cross breed cows are mainly in the A2 gene category itself.

Does A1 milk cause heart diseases, blood pressure, diabetes or other ailments?

All these false rumors are spread in the media due to less information. First of all, we have to understand that there is a difference between causal factor and risk factor. A1 is not the cause of any disease, it can only increase the apprehension of disease. Some surveys have seen a slight risk, but some people made it a cause for illness.

This controversy was started by Dr. Eliot Group in 1990, in which a paper was published, in which deaths from diabetes and heart diseases were correlated with the diet of those people. Those surveys saw very close links between heart diseases and A1 beta casein, but at high altitude areas such as North America and North Europe.

If India was not a part of this study then its applications do not arise here. There have always been questions on the authenticity of such a Area Restricted Survey Study. And in this study it was also believed that on every person beta casein had a similar exposure, which is not possible at all.

The biggest problem in such surveys is the way they are interpreted. Industries, media and scientists manipulate them as per their own interest and propagate incorrect knowledge in the market. On the contrary, the glycemic index of rice or wheat is more than milk but no one gives attention to it.

Scientists say that no reliable evidence has been found so far that indicates that drinking A1 milk may cause heart disease or diabetes.

A1 Milk In Indian Context

It is a well-published fact that 99.9% of the milk available in Indian market is A1-A2 types and as for A1 milk also Dr. Tracer and the European Food Safety Authority published in 2009 that A1 milk is safe in every way.

Aahan Farm’s Milknjoy is 100% A2 pure cow milk and pure buffalo milk. All Aahan Farm’s farm fresh products have the same type of protein and are extremely nutritious. Aahan Farm products include Milknjoy pure cow milk, pure buffalo milk, pure desi ghee, butter and farm fresh paneer. Include them in your daily diet for health requirements.