9.
Government’s Push For Livestock Business
Killing The Soul Of The Nation
According to an ANI (Asian News International) news release dated November 18th 2009, an increasing number of farmers are being motivated to undertake crop diversification and livestock farming in Punjab and other states. As part of its endeavour to ensure the growth of the livestock farming sector, the government is holding various livestock shows.
Departments of Animal Husbandry have been instructed to provide details of various government schemes to farmers. The presence of farmers at such livestock shows reflects a rapidly popularizing livestock business.
Farmers from Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Kapurthala districts recently converged in Tarn Taran to participate in the three-day “Livestock and Competition Fair”.
Mahga Singh of Sarya village, who arrived here with his award winner “Goat”, said: “Now, my sons have started doing this business as their family income has increased. People from all over the Punjab come to them to buy livestock.” The department has registered every farmer of the area and is encouraging them to breed “Beetal Goat”. They are provided with free medical aid and medicines.
There are countless such schemes to encourage farmers to give up traditional farming and take up animal rearing for meat export.
Departments of Animal Husbandry have been instructed to provide details of various government schemes to farmers. The presence of farmers at such livestock shows reflects a rapidly popularizing livestock business.
Farmers from Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Kapurthala districts recently converged in Tarn Taran to participate in the three-day “Livestock and Competition Fair”.
Mahga Singh of Sarya village, who arrived here with his award winner “Goat”, said: “Now, my sons have started doing this business as their family income has increased. People from all over the Punjab come to them to buy livestock.” The department has registered every farmer of the area and is encouraging them to breed “Beetal Goat”. They are provided with free medical aid and medicines.
There are countless such schemes to encourage farmers to give up traditional farming and take up animal rearing for meat export.
Rs. 300 Crore Scheme To Rear Male Buffaloes
Jun 29, 2009, PTI
The Centre is considering launching a Rs 300 crore scheme to rear male buffalo calves to boost meat export.
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Agriculture Ministry will soon approach the Cabinet for approval of the scheme, which will be funded by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
“The proposed scheme ‘Salvaging and rearing of male buffalo calves’, with an estimated outlay of Rs 300 crore for the 11th Five Year Plan period, is aimed at generating employment in rural areas and earning foreign exchange for the country,” a senior government official told PTI.
Under the scheme, male buffalo calves will be rescued particularly from the big cities and reared in villages, the official said, adding that this would not only lead to retaining of genetic material but also boosting buffalo meat export.
Farmers will be given incentives for rearing male buffalo calves and provided back-end linkage with export-oriented slaughter houses to buy these animals, the official said.
“There is vast potential for development of meat, by products and leather industry,” the official observed.
The implementation of scheme will also lead to an additional output of buffalo meat and hides. Forex earnings will also come through export of the same.
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Agriculture Ministry will soon approach the Cabinet for approval of the scheme, which will be funded by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
“The proposed scheme ‘Salvaging and rearing of male buffalo calves’, with an estimated outlay of Rs 300 crore for the 11th Five Year Plan period, is aimed at generating employment in rural areas and earning foreign exchange for the country,” a senior government official told PTI.
Under the scheme, male buffalo calves will be rescued particularly from the big cities and reared in villages, the official said, adding that this would not only lead to retaining of genetic material but also boosting buffalo meat export.
Farmers will be given incentives for rearing male buffalo calves and provided back-end linkage with export-oriented slaughter houses to buy these animals, the official said.
“There is vast potential for development of meat, by products and leather industry,” the official observed.
The implementation of scheme will also lead to an additional output of buffalo meat and hides. Forex earnings will also come through export of the same.
Meat Industry - Evolving Into A Fad
Meat eaters like sexual offenders if not checked, want more and more excitement, more and more fancies to feed their fetish.
More and more Indians are trying out meats which are not supermarket staples. Illegal restaurants have sprung up selling game meat and rare birds. Our increasing interest in pushing boundaries in everything we do means that there is now a market for anything that crawls, runs, flies or swims.
One such segment being popularized is Emu meat. Farmers are selling their lands and cows to invest in emu farms, often with disastrous consequences.
India was not a meat eating or meat producing civilization. Meat eating was rare and for special occasions and confined only to a small section of our people. Today it is an industry, a fad. And that kills the soul of the nation.
More and more Indians are trying out meats which are not supermarket staples. Illegal restaurants have sprung up selling game meat and rare birds. Our increasing interest in pushing boundaries in everything we do means that there is now a market for anything that crawls, runs, flies or swims.
One such segment being popularized is Emu meat. Farmers are selling their lands and cows to invest in emu farms, often with disastrous consequences.
India was not a meat eating or meat producing civilization. Meat eating was rare and for special occasions and confined only to a small section of our people. Today it is an industry, a fad. And that kills the soul of the nation.
India Should Ban Emu Farming
Maneka Gandhi, 07 October 2012
In 1996, an Andhra Pradesh businessman smuggled in emus through the customs, saying they were chickens from Australia. Emus look nothing like chicken but one bribe looks like another so everyone kept quiet. He multiplied these emus and started giving them to people who had poultry farms. Soon, this illegal bird spread throughout India and the animal husbandry department, who were informed again and again of the dangers of keeping this bird, jumped into its promotion enthusiastically. This Government, under Sharad Pawar (who else?) has permitted emu farming. Nabard gives loans for it.
It has spread like a disease from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Goa, Uttarakhand and even Gujarat. It has taken 15 years and hundreds of bankruptcies to realize that emu farming is a fake – a Ponzi scheme started by clever crooks to defraud farmers. A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of so called returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. Ponzi scheme organizers solicit new investors by promising to invest funds in opportunities claimed to generate high returns with little or no risk.
Let me explain to you the Great Emu Game through example:
A man called M. S. Guru started Susi Emu Farms in 2006 in Erode. He cheated 12,000 investors. It was done in two ways:
The company sold emu chicks to a farmer. The farmer was told that that once the birds were reared and adult, the company would buy them back. Many farmers turned their agricultural lands into emu rearing sheds.
Susi also asked people to invest in their emu business, paying to own emus which would be reared by Susi on a contract basis, guaranteeing Rs.1,000 per month as a return to the farmer. Many victims were lured by what appeared to be the success of Susi Farms.
Guru was conferred the Arch of Excellence (Business) Award (2008) and Gem of India Award-2011 by All India Achievers Conference.
This is what his victims have to say: “They said it was a very simple business. They promised to supply chicks and the fodder. The shed was built on my premises claiming it was free, though I had to pay a huge amount in the form of interest free security deposit,” recalls P. Subrahmani from Omallaur who invested Rs. 15 lakh with Susi Farms. He got 25 others to invest. “As per the agreement, they had to pay me Rs.7,000 per month on a unit of six birds as maintenance charge. I had ten units. They made one payment and then stopped. They kept the security deposit and had no explanation for not making the payment.” Those that invested in Susi directly had to give an initial investment of Rs. 2 lakh and were allocated 20 chicks. They were promised a total return of Rs. 6.5 lakh in five years.
Perunthurai, a town in Erode district is the hub of emu farming with 28 companies who have done the same thing as Susi. According to police estimates, there are over 250 promoters of contract farming of this bird across the state and they all attracted investors promising higher returns. Dozens of emu farms started operations with advertisement campaigns to lure farmers to rear the bird on contract mode in Coimbatore, Krishnagiri, Pollachi, Mettupalayam, Tirupur, Perundurai, Dharapuram and Salem . The district administration and police have now issued press statements warning people off Emu farming or investments. The Susi birds are now being fed by the government but they will all die soon as feeding them is very expensive.
It has spread like a disease from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Goa, Uttarakhand and even Gujarat. It has taken 15 years and hundreds of bankruptcies to realize that emu farming is a fake – a Ponzi scheme started by clever crooks to defraud farmers. A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of so called returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. Ponzi scheme organizers solicit new investors by promising to invest funds in opportunities claimed to generate high returns with little or no risk.
Let me explain to you the Great Emu Game through example:
A man called M. S. Guru started Susi Emu Farms in 2006 in Erode. He cheated 12,000 investors. It was done in two ways:
The company sold emu chicks to a farmer. The farmer was told that that once the birds were reared and adult, the company would buy them back. Many farmers turned their agricultural lands into emu rearing sheds.
Susi also asked people to invest in their emu business, paying to own emus which would be reared by Susi on a contract basis, guaranteeing Rs.1,000 per month as a return to the farmer. Many victims were lured by what appeared to be the success of Susi Farms.
Guru was conferred the Arch of Excellence (Business) Award (2008) and Gem of India Award-2011 by All India Achievers Conference.
This is what his victims have to say: “They said it was a very simple business. They promised to supply chicks and the fodder. The shed was built on my premises claiming it was free, though I had to pay a huge amount in the form of interest free security deposit,” recalls P. Subrahmani from Omallaur who invested Rs. 15 lakh with Susi Farms. He got 25 others to invest. “As per the agreement, they had to pay me Rs.7,000 per month on a unit of six birds as maintenance charge. I had ten units. They made one payment and then stopped. They kept the security deposit and had no explanation for not making the payment.” Those that invested in Susi directly had to give an initial investment of Rs. 2 lakh and were allocated 20 chicks. They were promised a total return of Rs. 6.5 lakh in five years.
Perunthurai, a town in Erode district is the hub of emu farming with 28 companies who have done the same thing as Susi. According to police estimates, there are over 250 promoters of contract farming of this bird across the state and they all attracted investors promising higher returns. Dozens of emu farms started operations with advertisement campaigns to lure farmers to rear the bird on contract mode in Coimbatore, Krishnagiri, Pollachi, Mettupalayam, Tirupur, Perundurai, Dharapuram and Salem . The district administration and police have now issued press statements warning people off Emu farming or investments. The Susi birds are now being fed by the government but they will all die soon as feeding them is very expensive.
Mam sa khadatiti mamsah. The Sanskrit word is mamsa. Mam means "me," and sa means "he." I am killing this animal; I am eating him. And in my next lifetime he'll kill me and eat me. When the animal is sacrificed, this mantra is recited into the ear of the animal -- "You are giving your life, so in your next life you will get the opportunity of becoming a human being. And I who am now killing you will become an animal, and you will kill me." So after understanding this mantra, who will be ready to kill an animal?
~ Srila Prabhupada (JSD 6.5: Slaughterhouse Civilization)
Tamil Nadu is not alone. For the last three months teams of People For Animals have been going round Uttarakhand checking emu farms. Farmers in Nainital had started breeding emus some years ago. Now, the emus have been abandoned and the farmer ruined. The farmers have stopped feeding them and lakhs of these birds are dying of starvation. Nothing can be done as there is no space to keep them.
The companies insist that the emu is a bird which is easy to keep and is very popular for its meat, oil, leather and eggs. None of these claims are true. The fact is that emu meat is a failure. It is tough and difficult to cook. In fact even Australians do not eat emu meat. Susi farms started a restaurant with emu meat as the main fare. No takers. The emus require lakhs to feed. They grow to 6 feet. They have to be feed several times a day, 4 kg. of food each. They eat seeds, fruit, insects, young leaves, lizards, other small animals and animal droppings. They do not eat dry grasses or older leaves, even if that’s all that is available to them. Emus also need charcoal to help them digest their food.
Each requires 10 litres of water daily. The female lays eggs only during October to March and the maximum number are 10-20 eggs, one every 3-5 days. Emus lay eggs with difficulty. Only a few lay eggs at one time and an incubator is needed to hatch them. But incubators are uneconomical unless there is a reasonable quantity of eggs to sustain the cost of production. They get diseases like encephalitis.
As far as selling them for food, the price of emu meat is Rs. 450 a kg – an impossible price. The egg sells for Rs. 2,200. The eggs are dark green and very difficult to eat at one go and impossible to keep. In 2010 Punjab Agro Tech promoted the emu at its business fair, saying that omelettes of its eggs were selling at Rs. 5,000 per omelette in 5 star hotels – a claim found to be utterly false. In fact, 5 stars hotels do not even have emu on their menus.
The companies insist that the emu is a bird which is easy to keep and is very popular for its meat, oil, leather and eggs. None of these claims are true. The fact is that emu meat is a failure. It is tough and difficult to cook. In fact even Australians do not eat emu meat. Susi farms started a restaurant with emu meat as the main fare. No takers. The emus require lakhs to feed. They grow to 6 feet. They have to be feed several times a day, 4 kg. of food each. They eat seeds, fruit, insects, young leaves, lizards, other small animals and animal droppings. They do not eat dry grasses or older leaves, even if that’s all that is available to them. Emus also need charcoal to help them digest their food.
Each requires 10 litres of water daily. The female lays eggs only during October to March and the maximum number are 10-20 eggs, one every 3-5 days. Emus lay eggs with difficulty. Only a few lay eggs at one time and an incubator is needed to hatch them. But incubators are uneconomical unless there is a reasonable quantity of eggs to sustain the cost of production. They get diseases like encephalitis.
As far as selling them for food, the price of emu meat is Rs. 450 a kg – an impossible price. The egg sells for Rs. 2,200. The eggs are dark green and very difficult to eat at one go and impossible to keep. In 2010 Punjab Agro Tech promoted the emu at its business fair, saying that omelettes of its eggs were selling at Rs. 5,000 per omelette in 5 star hotels – a claim found to be utterly false. In fact, 5 stars hotels do not even have emu on their menus.
Ganesa: Some people say that in our philosophy, if we do not wish to slaughter the animals, what about the trees? We are killing the plants. They are also living entities.
Prabhupada: If you compare the animals and the trees as the same, then why not kill yourself, your brother? Why do you distinguish? Why don't you slaughter your own son? Why do you distinguish?
Ganesa: He's a relative.
Prabhupada: You discriminate. If you are slaughtering animals and you are comparing that killing of the vegetables and the killing of the animals is the same, then killing your son and killing an animal is also the same. Why do you discriminate? Just kill your own son and eat.
Paramahamsa: He's a human being, though.
Prabhupada: Ah, therefore there is discrimination. Discrimination is the better part of valor. Whom should we kill? It is all right.
Jivo jivasya jivanam. But there is important. If you eat vegetables there is no crisis, you can go on. It is a fact that an animal is eating another animal. It may be vegetables or animals, but they are disturbing. Therefore it is said, "As it is allotted." You should eat such and such. Not that indiscriminately you can eat everything. If you think killing of an animal and killing a vegetable is the same, then killing of your son and killing of animals or vegetable is the same. Why do you discriminate? What is your answer?
Ganesa: So if we discriminate between the animals and the plants, well what about the discrimination between the human beings and the animals? Is it not all right to kill animals and not human beings?
Prabhupada: No. You discriminate actually. You do not kill human beings, but you kill animals. Similarly you discriminate: instead of killing animals, kill vegetables. Importance. Just like this grass. There is enough supply of grass, but you cannot have enough supply of cows. Therefore discrimination is that it is better to live on grass than on animals. Now, still they are eating seventy-five percent other than animals. They are not eating only animals. Why not twenty-five percent more? In the market they are not eating animal. When the animal-eaters I see, they have got a little flesh, surrounded by salad and these peas and so many other things. Why don't you eat only meat?
Srutakirti: Because we require a balanced diet.
Prabhupada: No, you cannot supply. If everyone eats meat only, then one day all animals will be finished.
Paramahamsa: But we want to have a balanced diet with meat, and vegetables and fruit.
Prabhupada: That balance of diet can be done by grains and vegetables. Why should we kill animals? We know that, the balance can be done. You learn from us that balanced food can be done.
~Srila Prabhupada (Morning Walk -- May 7, 1975, Perth)
Now the emu companies are claiming that they will sell feather and nails, cooking oil and beauty products!
If the emu was being grown for meat and oil, any emu business has to have a slaughterhouse to kill the birds hygienically and another unit to process oil. No companies have these. They simply have birds which they contract out, take the money and run.
There is no meat market developed yet for export or for local sale and no symptoms of it so far. In any case there are no foreign offers for the meat. So far the oil processing and other industrial ventures remain only in newspaper and radio advertisements.
An entrepreneur in Anand, Gujarat who expected to reap huge profits from killing the bird, is now selling them away as pets. The farmers of Hoshiarpur are now bankrupt as are the emu farmers of Maharashtra – a scam that broke in 2010 and was ignored.
Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have crashed. But that doesn’t prevent more states and more ignorant state administrations from pushing emu meat. Goa, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh are pushing this. Bihar’s ignorant animal husbandry and fisheries resources department minister is asking the World Bank to give Bihar money to start emu farming! His department says that they will sell it as a medicine saying that its oil has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects – a claim that even Australia does not make! Previously he had tried to make rat eating popular.
How many farmers will have to commit suicide before India bans emu farming?
If the emu was being grown for meat and oil, any emu business has to have a slaughterhouse to kill the birds hygienically and another unit to process oil. No companies have these. They simply have birds which they contract out, take the money and run.
There is no meat market developed yet for export or for local sale and no symptoms of it so far. In any case there are no foreign offers for the meat. So far the oil processing and other industrial ventures remain only in newspaper and radio advertisements.
An entrepreneur in Anand, Gujarat who expected to reap huge profits from killing the bird, is now selling them away as pets. The farmers of Hoshiarpur are now bankrupt as are the emu farmers of Maharashtra – a scam that broke in 2010 and was ignored.
Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have crashed. But that doesn’t prevent more states and more ignorant state administrations from pushing emu meat. Goa, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh are pushing this. Bihar’s ignorant animal husbandry and fisheries resources department minister is asking the World Bank to give Bihar money to start emu farming! His department says that they will sell it as a medicine saying that its oil has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects – a claim that even Australia does not make! Previously he had tried to make rat eating popular.
How many farmers will have to commit suicide before India bans emu farming?
They are now killing animal, but animal lives on this grass and grains. When there will be no grass, no grains, where they will get animal? They’ll kill their own son and eat. That time is coming. Nature’s law is that you grow your own food. But they are not interested in growing food. They are interested in manufacturing bolts and nuts.
-Srila Prabhupada (Morning Walk — June 22, 1974, Germany)
