Indian Ghee Contaminated with Animal Fat : Which brands to buy in India?

[krsna]

Indian Ghee Contaminated with Animal Fat

<!-- end .post-top --><!-- the main section of the post goes here -->By Antony Brennan, originally posted at ISKCON News (www. news. iskon. com) on 19 Nov 2007

Laboratory tests reveal that many brands of ghee manufactured in India are adulterated with the body fat of animals. The lab report says the only way to guarantee the purity of your ghee is to make it yourself.

Using an Infrared Spectrum test, Anatech laboratory research center analyzed a variety of brands and confirmed that much of India’s ghee production is contaminated.

“We had samples tested and it has proved positive for animal fat beyond any doubt,” Bhakti Raghava Swami who organized the research said.

Anatech laboratory was chosen for the tests after approaching a variety of labs. “Anatech was the only lab which had facilities to accurately identify the contaminants,” Bhakti Raghava Maharaj said. “The others could tell if it was adulterated but not particularly by animal fats,” he said . The lab reported that some ghee contained up to 15% animal fat

India TV, amongst other channels, aired footage filmed at some of the ghee manufacturing plants. The footage revealed what vegetarians had feared. It confirmed that animals were being rendered and their fat added to ghee products.

“There were bodies of dead animals all around,” said Madhavendu Dasa after seeing the news reports. “There were scenes of animal fat boiling in big drums and some where slabs of fat were just hanging,” he said.

One factory allegedly adulterates ghee with a chemical named Styrai which is usually only used for detergent and soap. Excessive consumption of Styrai is said to cause liver diseases including cancer.

In India, milk and milk products attract only a 5% profit margin. In order to compete effectively in the market some manufacturers have taken the step of adulterating their products to reduce the base cost and increase the profit margin. The discovery and subsequent reporting of the ghee deception may prove to reduce the profits of many ghee producer.

Anatech laboratory research center has also tested milk and other milk products to reveal that some brands are adulterated with vegetable oil or are a mix between cow and buffalo milk.

 

<!-- end .post-middle --><!-- the bottom of the post, the background graphic gets applied here -->

 

<!-- You can start editing here. --><!-- T R A C K B A C K S / P I N G B A C K S -->

 

<!-- C O M M E N T S -->Hare krishna,

 

 

Can you please list the name the brands which perticullarly uses Animal fat, and also seprate list of companies which uses vegetable oil or buffalo milk to produce ghee…. I am ok with vegetarian mixtures with ghee as I dont have any time to cook ghee for my self so please give the details…

Thanks

[theist]

How disgusting. Ghee itself is an animal fat but now they are slaughtering animals to cook down slabs of fat to add to the ghee. Consider how these demons have polluted millions of pujas. The devotee thinks he is offering something pure to the Lord, (in foodstuff and ghee lamps) and it is actually a carcass product.

 

Some will want to kill these characters. Others may become vegan just to be safe.

[osiris]

"Consider how these demons have polluted millions of pujas."

consider how many kachoris!!!

[Nrsinghadev]

Very disgusting indeed. As I was reading it I was cringing in disgust. Nowadays the greedy companies are unnecessarily contaminating almost all products just for the sake of a few more dollars. Even the vegan is not automatically safe anymore. What a time we are living in!

 

 

Are Our Fruits and Vegetables Vegan?

 

You might say to yourself, “Well, that’s a silly question, of course they are vegan. Fruits and vegetables contain no animal ingredients, they weren't processed using animals and they aren't tested on animals.” With the above definition, let’s take a look at this question. If you just stop and think about fruits and vegetables, they are vegan. But if you dig a little deeper, you might find a different answer. Enter the genetic manipulation of our food supply and conventional farming.

 

I contend that if a fruit or vegetable is not certified organic then there is a very good chance that it is actually not vegan at all. It may contain, be processed with, and/or be tested on animals. With the genetic alteration of our foods, many of our fruits, vegetables, legumes, and processed foods contain genetic material from animals. By genetic alteration (also known as biotechnology, genetic engineering, genetically modified), I mean that genes from one organism are extracted and inserted into the cells of another organism in the laboratory. For example, tomatoes have been engineered with a gene found in the blood of flounders. This gene is responsible for keeping a flounder from freezing in the ice-cold waters in which it lives. The modification is made to create tomatoes that will grow in the cold of winter without freezing. Another not-so appetizing example is lettuce engineered with genes from rats to “enhance” its taste. Not only is genetic engineering prevalent in the manipulation of crops, but is also widely used in the dairy industry. The genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH) is used to increase production of milk in dairy cows. This hormone greatly increases the risk of mastitis in cows, which forces dairymen to increase the use of antibiotics. Milk produced from a cow treated with rBGH contains thousands of puss cells per drop of milk and can also contain the cow’s blood. This genetically engineered hormone also contains an element that greatly increases the consumer’s risk of certain kinds of cancer. And, due to the increased use of antibiotics on cows injected with rBGH, many scientists believe that antibiotic resistance in these consumers increases as well. Not only is rBGH unhealthy for the consumer, but because of a cow’s increased tendency to contract mastitis, it is very painful and inhumane to the animal.

 

Let’s return to the production of our fruits and vegetables using conventional farming practices, that use certain kinds of fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides, and genetically engineered seeds. Most fertilizer used on crops today contains animal manure. Much of this manure, sold by the livestock, poultry, dairy, and pork industries, is collected from the floors of large factory farms where animals are kept in strict confinement. These animals walk in and breathe fumes from their own excrement for days prior to the manure being sold to the conventional farmer. Then it is used to grow conventional fruits and vegetables. Many farmers spray herbicides and pesticides, also known as agro-chemicals, on conventional crops in order to kill off those nasty weeds and insects that keep the farmer from growing “healthy” crops. In many cases, the targeted insects are consumed by birds and other predators and can cause the predators to become ill or even die. The residue from agro-chemicals is found on most fruits and vegetables that we consume as well. These chemicals greatly increase the risk of illness and disease for farm workers. Pesticides and herbicides also seep into the soil, killing millions of beneficial microbes and bacteria, as well as non-targeted insects in the soil. In addition, conventional farming is one of the largest contributors to the loss of 75% of topsoil in the United States. And let’s not forget that these chemicals end up in the water we drink and again increase our risk of illness and disease.

 

In short, the production of conventional food crops uses a product that kills animals and insects, and seriously affects the health and well-being of the consumer and the environment. But you say, “With genetically engineered seed, farmers won't have to use these toxic chemicals.” According to recent studies, farmers have actually increased their use of herbicides and pesticides. Most of the products created through biotechnology are crops that work in conjunction with the chemicals sprayed on the crops. The same corporation that provides the agro-chemicals also provides the genetically engineered seed that works with the chemicals. For example, Monsanto produces the product Roundup as well as Roundup-Ready seeds. Another genetic engineering development is Bt crops, crops that contain the naturally occurring insecticide, Bt, used as a last resort by organic farmers. So, instead of being sprayed by the chemical, every cell in the plant now contains the chemical. Pesticide residue is no longer a problem because now the pesticide is contained in the plant itself. Researchers are concerned that insects will become resistant to Bt, making it useless to the organic farmer. Researchers have also shown that these new biotech crops destroy beneficial insects, such as the monarch butterfly and earth worms and may have unforeseeable consequences to human health as well. But are these foods actually tested on animals? Yes! Many genetically engineered foods are tested on animals to determine their impact on human health and the environment. Despite what the biotech industry tells us, the process of genetic engineering is still imprecise. The technique of inserting a new gene into a host organism is not very precise at all.

 

So, the industry turns to testing these novel foods on animals, although animal testing is not required by law yet. In many cases there are surprising, unforeseen results, frequently detrimental to the test animals involved. And in many cases the animals are subjected to deliberately induced and unanticipated suffering in order to test these manipulated foods. Being vegan is a learning experience. The more you learn, the more aware you become. I invite you to become aware of the issue of genetically modified foods. Read up on the current research about genetically modified foods and become educated on the issue. Then think about what I have presented here and determine for yourself whether or not you think these foods are vegan.

 

Patrick West

 

Chairman, Natural Law Party of Colorado. Patrick has been a vegan for over three years and a vegetarian for five years. He is the State Chairman of the Natural Law Party of Colorado, is working for the labeling of genetically engineered foods at state and national levels, is working for campaign finance reform in Colorado, is a member of the Alternative Party Coalition of Colorado, and is also a member of HEALTH.

 

Of course that it now happens to ghee is especially bad, because ghee is an essential ingredient in all vedic rituals, so one can be a devotee on a vegan diet but still there will have to be ghee if one performs puja. Unless one gives up his job and goes to live in a selfsupplying ashram somewhere on the edge of the Brazilian rainforest, such as the gour vrindavan community http://www.goura.com.br/ing_INDEX.HTM , we can never completely avoid the trampling of our established ideals. Better just ask Krishna to forgive all of these sort of unfortunate shortcomings that are particular to the age of Kali and perform bhajana to Sri Sri Radha Krishna to the best of our abilities.

[krishnadasa]

 

Indian Ghee Contaminated with Animal Fat

<!-- end .post-top --><!-- the main section of the post goes here -->By Antony Brennan, originally posted at ISKCON News (www. news. iskon. com) on 19 Nov 2007

Laboratory tests reveal that many brands of ghee manufactured in India are adulterated with the body fat of animals. The lab report says the only way to guarantee the purity of your ghee is to make it yourself.

Using an Infrared Spectrum test, Anatech laboratory research center analyzed a variety of brands and confirmed that much of India’s ghee production is contaminated.

“We had samples tested and it has proved positive for animal fat beyond any doubt,” Bhakti Raghava Swami who organized the research said.

Anatech laboratory was chosen for the tests after approaching a variety of labs. “Anatech was the only lab which had facilities to accurately identify the contaminants,” Bhakti Raghava Maharaj said. “The others could tell if it was adulterated but not particularly by animal fats,” he said . The lab reported that some ghee contained up to 15% animal fat

India TV, amongst other channels, aired footage filmed at some of the ghee manufacturing plants. The footage revealed what vegetarians had feared. It confirmed that animals were being rendered and their fat added to ghee products.

“There were bodies of dead animals all around,” said Madhavendu Dasa after seeing the news reports. “There were scenes of animal fat boiling in big drums and some where slabs of fat were just hanging,” he said.

One factory allegedly adulterates ghee with a chemical named Styrai which is usually only used for detergent and soap. Excessive consumption of Styrai is said to cause liver diseases including cancer.

In India, milk and milk products attract only a 5% profit margin. In order to compete effectively in the market some manufacturers have taken the step of adulterating their products to reduce the base cost and increase the profit margin. The discovery and subsequent reporting of the ghee deception may prove to reduce the profits of many ghee producer.

Anatech laboratory research center has also tested milk and other milk products to reveal that some brands are adulterated with vegetable oil or are a mix between cow and buffalo milk.

 

<!-- end .post-middle --><!-- the bottom of the post, the background graphic gets applied here -->

 

<!-- You can start editing here. --><!-- T R A C K B A C K S / P I N G B A C K S -->

 

<!-- C O M M E N T S -->Hare krishna,

 

 

Can you please list the name the brands which perticullarly uses Animal fat, and also seprate list of companies which uses vegetable oil or buffalo milk to produce ghee…. I am ok with vegetarian mixtures with ghee as I dont have any time to cook ghee for my self so please give the details…

Thanks

 

 

My mother never used Ghee from outside, she always makes herself..

[krsna]

bUT IF YOU HAVE TO ABSOLUTELY BUY GhEE IN THE SHOPS OF iNDIA, WHICH ONES ARE GOOD, KOSHER//??

 

i mean 100% veg origin, with no meat, fish or eggs....????

[krsna]

Pure and impure what is to be offered!

 

 

<!-- end .post-top --><!-- the main section of the post goes here -->By Madhavendu das

I am submitting this article as a follow up on the article by Antony Brennan title “Indian Ghee contaminated with animal fat.”

Dear Maharajas, Prabhus and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I am extremely grateful to HH Bhakti Raghav Swami and Antony Brennan for their kind research on the Ghee. I hope this time it will better inform devotees and bring auspiciousness for the whole society. The degradation of general mass has no limit in this present age. Everyone is just mad after sense enjoyment and they don’t mind to make money by doing any nonsense activity.

Mix or impure Ghee is not a recent problem. It was there also, when Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada was present. Through his letter he instructed what is to be offer to the Lord. The following are the excerpts from his letters:

“Bilati Sugar (imported sugar/ white sugar) and mixed Ghee are impure. Desi (native) real sugar and unmixed Ghee is pure. (Patravali, Part one, page-3)

Pure and impure things both are material truth, but in relation to serve the Lord one must reject impure ingredients. In the mode of goodness pure things and in the mode of passion and ignorance the impurity besieged and enclosed. By sattva-guna one must have to forlorn the rajah and tamah gunas means being fixed in visuddha-sattva and knowing that visuddha- sattva is pure and serve the Lord with those ingredients. In the impure conscience means the ingredients which possessed rajah and tamah qualities cannot be offered to the Lord. Purity must always be taken into strict consideration. (Patravali, Part one, page-5)

About this two definition of “pure” and “impure”, whatever karmis thinks is pure, may not be so for the devotees, also according to karmi’s consciousness of impure things is pure for the devotees. If the term apavitra (impure) indicate amedya-uneatable then no one can never ever offer it to the Lord. Without Sattvik, Rajahsik and tamasik things can not be offer to the Lord. If some one bring some impure things and tell that this is offered to the Lord-we should never accept it. Anything which is not accepted by the Lord, are rejected by the devotees. There will be no offenses to rejecting those things. Even if it is announced that the pure Sattvik ingredients is offered to the Lord but by non- devotees, we should reject knowing well that Lord does not accept them. (Patravali, Part one, page-8, 9)”

Regarding Sugar: Sugar is one of the main ingredients in so many sweet preparations. But unfortunately no one concerned about its purity. The sugar we use is white sugar which is bleached over animal bones. Refiners use blood (bullocks, buffalos, pigs etc) and bone black frequently to refine Sugar. It is poisonous in certain cases. “The world is enamored and deceived merely by the outward beauty which is nothing but the trap of Maya” Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur The brown Sugar is much sweeter, more wholesome and more digestible than white Sugar. The brown coloring matter is the very essence of Sugar, its very life. Here at the Krishna Balaram Mandir we have 5 senior Brhmacaris who obstain and decline to accept and eat foodstuff containing white Sugar. They consider that sugar is untouchable and also unhealthy.

In the Kartik I have spoke to HG Harisuri Prabhu about the white sugar. He told me that we should not use the white sugar. Refiners are using horrible chemicals now days. Prabhupada instructed us to organize our own production, like farm houses etc.

My humble suggestion on the matter, is to have somebody organize our own production or cottage industry. If any wealthy Vaisnava can take inspiration and come forward to pick up this urgency and pressing- need in our ISKCON society; he will very much please and satisfy the Lord and His dear devotees.

Hare Krishna Vaisnava dasanudas Madhavendu das

[pranay2]

Can You Please list those ghee brands using animal fat , so to avoid them, I used ISKCON ghee and it tasted fantastic, perhaps my taste buds were used to the adulterated ones.I could safely use the ISKCON or the ASARAM Bapu brands, being safe , but they are costly.Can I use Amul? Pls advice, being a Vaishnav, I have to know, which ones are pure.

[krsna]

Can You Please list those ghee brands using animal fat , so to avoid them, I used ISKCON ghee and it tasted fantastic, perhaps my taste buds were used to the adulterated ones.I could safely use the ISKCON or the ASARAM Bapu brands, being safe , but they are costly.Can I use Amul? Pls advice, being a Vaishnav, I have to know, which ones are pure.

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[indulekhadasi]

 

Can You Please list those ghee brands using animal fat , so to avoid them, I used ISKCON ghee and it tasted fantastic, perhaps my taste buds were used to the adulterated ones.I could safely use the ISKCON or the ASARAM Bapu brands, being safe , but they are costly.Can I use Amul? Pls advice, being a Vaishnav, I have to know, which ones are pure.

 

Amul is safe. I would stick to Amul. Amul states that they don't add such things. I hope they are sticking up to this standard and will in the future.

[krsna]

 

Amul is safe. I would stick to Amul. Amul states that they don't add such things. I hope they are sticking up to this standard and will in the future.

 

Amul is safe! OK (O KRSNA)

[indulekhadasi]

 

Amul is safe! OK (O KRSNA)

 

I know how you feel. RELIEF! Amul is so widely available in India but unfortunately it is even harder to get cheeses and other dairy products without animal rennet here in America. You have to be so careful here.

 

I don't know why companies have to put those stuff. I have heard Amul products taste so much better (probably because they are purer).

 

Jai Nitai!

[dasa]

 

it is even harder to get cheeses and other dairy products without animal rennet here in America. You have to be so careful here.

 

Traderjoes is in many larger cities. They have many cheeses without rennet.

 

http://www.traderjoes.com/Attachments/rennet_test.pdf

 

http://www.traderjoes.com/locations.asp

[indulekhadasi]

 

Traderjoes is in many larger cities. They have many cheeses without rennet.

 

http://www.traderjoes.com/Attachments/rennet_test.pdf

 

http://www.traderjoes.com/locations.asp

 

That is where I get my cheese from. But my the closest trader joes is quite far, thats why I was complaining. If I was in Kolkata with my grandparents, all I would have to do was walk for five min, go into the local store and get tons of Amul products!

 

But I guess I should quit complaining. Some people may not even have a Trader Joes in their state.

 

Jai Nitai!

[theist]

 

bUT IF YOU HAVE TO ABSOLUTELY BUY GhEE IN THE SHOPS OF iNDIA, WHICH ONES ARE GOOD, KOSHER//??

 

i mean 100% veg origin, with no meat, fish or eggs....????

 

Veg origin? It comes from the blood of the cow.

[indulekhadasi]

 

Veg origin? It comes from the blood of the cow.

 

Why do we offer ghee into the fire? And Agnideva eats it up! Should we now accuse him, just because he isn't a vegan?

 

I am not trying to challenge you as it seems. I am asking a genuine question out of my curiosity.

[theist]

 

Why do we offer ghee into the fire? And Agnideva eats it up! Should we now accuse him, just because he isn't a vegan?

 

I am not trying to challenge you as it seems. I am asking a genuine question out of my curiosity.

 

Of course it's a challenge and that is OK. I am not above being challenged.

 

You hear me accusing someone which I am not. Try reading the question and my response again and perhaps it will be more clear.

 

<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: bbcode_quote --> Quote:

<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding-left: 3ex; padding-right: 3ex;" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"> Originally Posted by krsna

bUT IF YOU HAVE TO ABSOLUTELY BUY GhEE IN THE SHOPS OF iNDIA, WHICH ONES ARE GOOD, KOSHER//??

i mean 100% veg origin, with no meat, fish or eggs....????

</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

<!-- END TEMPLATE: bbcode_quote -->

Veg origin? It comes from the blood of the cow.

 

 

How can ghee every be 100% veg origin considering it is the fat of a cow? Milk is a transformation of cow's blood. It is not olive oil afterall.

 

Do you see know?

[indulekhadasi]

 

Of course it's a challenge and that is OK. I am not above being challenged.

 

You hear me accusing someone which I am not. Try reading the question and my response again and perhaps it will be more clear.

 

 

How can ghee every be 100% veg origin considering it is the fat of a cow? Milk is a transformation of cow's blood. It is not olive oil afterall.

 

Do you see now?

 

Theist prabhuji, I don't deny what you are saying. Milk is definitely cow's blood. But the scriptures say that the cow willingly provides this for us. Isn't this why we call the cow our mother, because she is nourishing us with her own blood?

 

I really don't want to challenge such great devotees as yourself. Actually this is a question that arose in my mind, as I am sincerely confused on this matter.

 

Hare Krishna.

indulekhadasi

 

PS- Did you ever get Uddhava Gita? I am reading it currently...oh so much nectar!

[suchandra]

 

Of course it's a challenge and that is OK. I am not above being challenged.

 

You hear me accusing someone which I am not. Try reading the question and my response again and perhaps it will be more clear.

 

 

How can ghee every be 100% veg origin considering it is the fat of a cow? Milk is a transformation of cow's blood. It is not olive oil afterall.

 

Do you see know?

But this is Krishna's magic, only He can transform cow's blood so perfectly that it is like olive oil!

[Dharini]

It is not so hard to make your own. Then you will be sure. Take high quality organic unsalted butter and melt it. Then keep skimming the white foam off. When all the foam has been skimmed boil for ten minutes to remove moisture.

 

I just ordered something called X factor butter from greenpastures.com. It is supposed to be very good for healing. It is not pasteurized though.

[tensriram]

 

How disgusting. Ghee itself is an animal fat but now they are slaughtering animals to cook down slabs of fat to add to the ghee. Consider how these demons have polluted millions of pujas. The devotee thinks he is offering something pure to the Lord, (in foodstuff and ghee lamps) and it is actually a carcass product.

 

Some will want to kill these characters. Others may become vegan just to be safe.

 

An orthodox indian household does not buy Ghee = = The Ghee needed is all processed at home starting from Cow's milk

[ayurveda4uall]

thre are many brands in market but i m sure and having experience that Madhusudan Ghee is best even they maintain thre quality and easily avialable in market..

regards

adwait