16 Nov 2004
Cattle, the Research Catalyst

Ah, the fundie Hindu's are off on it again: this time claiming miracle cures from cow pies! Here's some news for these guys: cattle can be sacred without their dung being 'miraculous'... in fact, cattle can be quite sacred while being raised for the table! And they have been, in every Indo-European culture since their domestication. In fact, all cultures that raise cattle treat them with veneration to some degree, notably the Masai of Kenya.

I know I sure consider our herd cow, Wulfie, pictured above, sacred.

Modern Hindusim has lost sight of the simple fact that every farmer knows: in order for something to live, something else must die. Whether taking a cow to slaughter or ripping a sleeping carrot screaming from the warm embrace of Mother Earth, Life requires Death.

Cow urine may in fact have some healing properties: medieval Europeans boiled it down to make a wound dressing. But that fact has nothing to do with the special place cattle hold in society, nor should it.

Fundamentalist Hindu organizations are raising and spending big money to study the 'miraculous' properties of cows and their excreta. Manu Joseph reports from Mumbai, India.

(link) [Wired News]

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