On Being Vegan… But Lord Krishna Drank Milk

With the growth of the vegan movement and the vegan lifestyle in India, a few arguments have been made against veganism, and one such popular argument is, “…but Lord Krishna drank milk!” In one of the previous articles debunking the myth that veganism is a western concept in the context of India, I had discussed the traditional beliefs about dairy and veganism. In this article, I elaborate on the points made in the previous article.

‘Social Justice’ in Dwaparayuga

All living beings have the right to a life free from exploitation and harm, and without discrimination based on gender, societal class, physical and mental ability, and appearance. As we know from the scriptures, fights against injustice, marked by various movements, originated only post Dwaparayuga, the era in which Lord Krishna was born.

In the modern world, we are exposed to many movements for equity and fairness, popularly known as “social justice movements.” This is the time when we need to step up and include discrimination based on species within the purview of ‘social justice.’ If the society cannot imagine extracting the milk of a human mother, the same society needs to rise up and condemn the cruelty meted out to a non-human mother, who is a victim of the obsession for “cow’s milk” among humans.

Non-human animals, therefore, need to be included as legitimate subjects of social justice. We need to address the speciesism rampant in the world today and the speciesist within each of us, and in doing so, acknowledge that our choices are causing harm to the sentient non-human animals because we give lower preference to their rights. In living a vegan lifestyle, we oppose this unfortunate situation that our society has been systemically relegating the animals to. But Lord Krishna drank milk because either the idea of social justice was not present in his era or there was no need for it.

The Cruelty Aspect of Dairy is Black and White Today

There are now many videos in the public domain showing the way cows and buffaloes are treated in the dairy industry. From the scriptures what we do know and often hear is that there were never any harsh practices followed in the milk extraction process in the earlier eras. It is a common understanding that cows were treated like sentient beings, even if not family.

In current times, newborn calves are separated from their mothers so that the milk can be sold as a premium product. The tails of the adult animals are broken, and chilli is rubbed into their eyes, so they “obey” and stand inside the transport truck, thus taking up less space. Male calves are sent away to the leather factories so that they can be skinned while fully conscious, and their skin can be sold as premium leather. One might think, “but Lord Krishna drank milk…” since many in India have a sacred relationship with Lord Krishna, people should introspect and ask… would the Lord support these atrocities in modern-day dairy?

Signs of Environmental Destruction in Lord Krishna’s Era

During the time of Lord Krishna, the threats of environmental destruction and carbon emissions were not even known, let alone being a worrisome issue. It was a time when human population was minimal and deforestation was not the norm. Artificial insemination of cows in order to multiply their population for milk extraction, did not exist and hence, no excess amounts of methane was released into the atmosphere.

Today, the dairy industry is responsible for destructive amounts of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. With the scale of operations, the dairy industry requires huge amounts of resources and a large space. Environmentally “sustainable” dairy operations would involve using fewer resources thus resulting in smaller than the “optimum” scale of operations. This, in turn, would lead to lesser economic benefits for the industry. Therefore, dairy production is no longer environmentally sustainable as it probably was in Lord Krishna’s era; and if it conforms to environmental guidelines, it fails to make enormous profits that the dairy industry pushes for. In its article, Milk Life? How About Milk Destruction: The Shocking Truth About the Dairy Industry and the Environment, One Green Planet writes that dairy products come soon after beef and lamb in GHG emissions.

“…the production of four ounces of yogurt emits the same amount of GHGs as driving your car for over a mile. For four ounces of cheese, that number shoots up to the emissions equivalent to driving three and a half miles. Of all animal products, the Environmental Working group ranks cheese as having the third highest GHG emissions, coming in right after beef and lamb. For every one kilogram (about four, eight-ounce blocks) of cheese produced, 13.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide are released into the air.”

Lord Krishna’s Likely Message Today

All mythological accounts of the “divine” in any form contain justice and peace as their end goal. With all the Gods passionately fighting for righteousness, neither Lord Krishna nor any other God would promote violence. Do you think the brutalities in the dairy businesses (including the local tabelas) would be considered acceptable by Lord Krishna today? The animals in the dairy industry do not even have space to stand and move around, let alone get pampered with a brush and sumptuous healthy food.

Human beings in Lord Krishna’s era were entrusted the responsibility of protecting the vulnerable. However, today, we fail to include the animals in our circle of compassion. Rooting for peace and love, Lord Krishna would have surely found the current day world as unjust for the animals, where practices involve trillions of them facing cruelty by the humans. This video, Would Lord Shri Krishna Have Milk, Butter Today? | क्या भगवान श्रीकृष्ण आज दूध उत्पादों को खाएंगे? by YVCare explains the contrast between the dairy practices in the Dwaparayuga and what is being practiced now.

But Lord Krishna Drank Milk… Summary

Keeping the above points in view, it is expected that the first instinct of the follower or devotee of Lord Krishna is to be vegan. It is important to consider the true intent of Lord Krishna’s actions and accordingly tailor them to the current situation. Animals are raised and exploited in heart-wrenching conditions for us to benefit from them.

Using the reasoning, “but Lord Krishna drank milk,” is no longer valid to justify having that glass of tea, the block of cheese, or a bowl of curd. We cannot selectively apply this reasoning, completely ignoring the fact that Lord Krishna loved and revered the cows, and personally cared for them. We have a moral obligation to shun the modern-day dairy business which treats cows as simply means (raw materials) to an end (maximum profit). Our conscience, accountability for justice, and consideration of the current environmental state should be the push to keep us on the path of righteousness.

Political figure, diplomat and activist Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”

About the author, Sowmya Lakshmi

“I have been vegan since 2013 and it originated from my love for animals as I could no longer make sense of the disconnect between my love for them on one hand and my actions that were contributing to their harm on the other hand. I eventually decided to take it upon myself to spread the message of veganism as widely as possible as I realized that veganism paves the way to animal liberation.”

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