Fair price for farmers: How consumers can spur the change
I have often quoted an OECD-ICRIER study that puts an economic value to the losses suffered by the Indian farmers in the 16-year period, between 2000 and 2016. It puts the loss at a staggering Rs45 lakh crores, which means on an average, every year farmers suffered a loss of roughly Rs2.64 lakh crore. While…
Everything we thought about the origins of lactose tolerance is wrong
A new study published today in the journal Nature by University of Bristol and University College London researchers found that people’s ability to digest lactose became common almost 5,000 years later than the first signs of human milk consumption, which date back to around 6,000 BC. They also found, using new computer modeling methods, that…
Ancient Europeans were lactose intolerant. They drank milk anyway.
A group of scientists has concluded that ancient Europeans drank milk for millennia despite the digestive problems it may have caused, casting doubt on theories on how humans evolved to tolerate it. Scientists have long speculated that an enzyme needed to avoid any gastrointestinal discomfort developed rapidly in populations where domesticating dairy animals was prevalent….
18% GST on ice-cream parlours effective only from Oct 6, 2021
Ice-cream parlours can breathe easy as the Finance Ministry has said that the 18 per cent GST will not take retrospective effect. It also said that fees for entrance exams, issuance of migration certificates etc and charges for preferred location of land will not attract GST. Based on the recommendations by the GST Council in…
Milk collection drops in Gujarat as cattle disease spreads to more areas
With the dreaded viral infection Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) claiming over 1,500 cattle lives in Gujarat in the past 3-4 months, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday visited Kutch, the worst-hit district, to assess the treatment and vaccination efforts by the administration. Of the 54,000 reported cases in the State, Kutch district accounts for around…
Global dairy price index down by 5%-7th decline in 5 months
Global Dairy Trade Event 313 on Aug 2nd 2022 concluded with the GDT Price Index down 5.0% Global dairy price index plummeted again by 5% on 2nd Aug 2022 at Global dairy trade event. This is a seventh consecutive fortnightly drop in price index since 1st March 2022 except for a slight increase by 1.5%…
Working towards animal health : Atul Chaturvedi
A collaboration is needed between veterinary science and human health experts to forge effective tools The developments unleashed by COVID-19 have once again put the spotlight on the pressing need to create greater collaborations and synergies between research on human health and animal health. India has a livestock population of 1.6 billion, that in turn…
Centre, State cannot set support price for milk
Centre says co-operatives and private dairies fix prices; but agrees on input costs rising Dairy farmers in Maharashtra will have to sort out the support price for milk directly with the co-operatives and private dairies as the Union and the State governments are unwilling to intervene. Over the last few months, dairy farmers in Maharashtra…
Lumpy skin disease spreads to 25,000 bovines in Rajasthan
With the lumpy skin disease spreading fast among bovines in western and northern Rajasthan, cattle-rearers in the State are suffering heavy losses. The infection has spread to about 25,000 cattle in the last couple of months and resulted in the death of more than 1,200 animals. The State government has decided to set up control…
Ancient Europeans farmed dairy—but couldn’t digest milk
Over the past 10,000 years, populations living far apart in Europe, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East separately acquired a key genetic change: the ability to digest the milk sugar lactose as adults. Researchers thought people who had that ability and lived in dairy farming cultures got a nutritional boost and had more children,…