And the world’s largest exporter of beef is?
India.
A recent report by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of USDA states that for the second year in a row in 2013 India will be the world’s largest beef exporter has drawn attention to the meat trade industry. . . India’s beef export prominence has been recent with exports of only 672,000 MT in 2008, 607,000 MT in 2009 and 917,000 MT in 2010. Much of India’s beef is from buffalo and increased demand for milk has led to a larger beef supply. According to the U.S. Agricultural Attaché in India, domestic per capita consumption of buffalo beef is only about 4.4 pounds year and about 2.0 MMT total. Federal and state laws prohibit the slaughter of cattle for religious reasons, but slaughter is allowed for buffalo bulls and unproductive heifers.
via Indian Meat Production and World Meat Trade.
More milk, more beef. Makes sense. So what’s happening to beef production in China, another country whose milk production has surged recently.
(I find the last sentence of the quote a little confusing. I assume it means an exception is made for buffalo bulls and unproductive heifers. And what about cows past milking age? Oh well, these are quibbles. The point remains. You can’t have surging milk production without a lot of male calves and unproductive females of various ages. I believe, though, that breeders are working on ways to cut down on the number of male calves).
We probably may assume that the exceptions to the religious rules now are the rules.
And that a lot of dead animals have to be dealt with. Curiously just before coming across this I was talking with a scholar who did his Ph.D. on the leather industry in India that is now apparently the third largest in the world.
Amazing!
Then again, a large percentage of Indians is not Hindu, I suppose.
I wonder if kerbauw meat is any good? Here in Belgium there is a small but growing production of … bison for meat and in Holland there is now at least one kerbauw farm for mozarella production.
And I believe not all Hindus eschew meat. It will be interesting to see if different species of cattle, such as the north American bison and the Asian water buffalo become more popular.
Yes, that last sentence is confusing. Is the prohibition for religious reasons or is the practice in support of religious ceremonies?
I find the linking of milk and beef interesting. Though it is logical, it is at total odds with what I knew growing up in rural USA. There was no link at all between dairy and beef production. The species used for one or the other purpose were guardedly separate. Hereford was the most frequent choice for beef and Jersey, Holstein or Guernsey were used for milk production. The only cross-over would be if a “milk bull” were used with beef cows to improve the very scanty milk production and assure better survival of calves on the open range. The Indian model is clearly much more utilitarian, focusing on quantity rather than quality.
Frankly, I am baffled by the whole idea of India becoming the second largest exporter of beef. There is never any figures to see when they publish this claim. How are the buffalo slaughtered? Locally? Is the meat canned? Would refrigeration facilities exist for fresh beef? There are no feeding lots and such. Water Buffalo exist as foragers, I think. No body feeds them. So basically they are a free resource that seems to be coopted by the local elite. Who rounds them up?
Dear Kate, I’m always ready to listen to a skeptical voice. If you click on the link included in the post, you will find a good bit more information. And more yet in the comments.