Cattle farmers in Rajasthan cashing in on the rising demand for cow urine

• Farmers in Rajasthan are beefing up their revenues by almost 30% by selling cow urine.
  
• Urine of some cow breeds, such as Gir and Tharparkar, can fetch up to ₹15 and ₹30 per litre whereas cow milk fetches anything from ₹22 and ₹25.
• Some of the urine sold is used for holy rituals and scientifically-backed purposes like plant pesticides in organic farming.
• Some buy cow urine because they believe it can cure ailments and diseases like cancer.

Indians are nothing if not enterprising. While the government has tightened its noose around one revenue stream of livestock farmers in Rajasthan - yes, we mean the all too famous ban on cow slaughter - the unrelenting farmers have found a new way to milk the humble cow.

According to a report in the Times of India, farmers in Rajasthan are beefing up their revenues by almost 30% by selling cow urine. Urine of some cow breeds, such as Gir and Tharparkar, can fetch up to ₹15 and ₹30 per litre whereas cow milk fetches anything from ₹22 and ₹25.

Add sale of cow dung to the mix, which is now available on Amazon for around ₹215 for half a dozen dung cakes, and we are looking at the reason the word ‘cash cow’ was coined.

However, ensuring that cow urine is collected without spillage is no mean feat. Kailesh Gujjar, a farmer from Jaipur told TOI that he has to stay up all night to keep a watch on the cows and to collect the urine when the animal starts to tinkle.

While some of the ‘liquid gold’ sold is used for holy rituals and scientifically-backed purposes like plant pesticides in organic farming, they are also sold for not-so-scientific reasons like curing ailments and diseases like cancer, a theory that has been rubbished by many oncologists and researchers.

In July 2018, the TOI reported biotechnology scientists in Gujarat’s Junagadh Agriculture University claiming that they had successfully managed to kill cancer cells using cow urine and that too in their first attempt.

This claim ignited a heated debate on whether cow urine can actually cure cancer.

Senior oncologist Dr Anitha Ramesh told the Deccan Chronicle that the theory of cow urine curing cancer is “based on weak or no scientific data”. In fact, Dr Ramesh stressed on the fact that urine has toxins that can be harmful.

This opinion was echoed by Venkatraman Radhakrishnan, Associate Professor Medical and Pediatric Oncology, who responded to a question on Quora on whether gaumutra (cow urine) can cure or at least prevent cancer with a sharp “No”. He also added that “My fellow oncologists and I are yet to see a patient who exclusively consumed cow urine to be cured of cancer.”

However, there were other doctors who believed that there may be some truth to the theory.

Apart from cancer, some doctors also believe that gaumutra helps cure several ailments, including fever, jaundice, piles, stomach and liver-related diseases. And that’s not all, Dr Prakash Chandra Saxena, principal and superintendent of Government Ayurveda College and Hospital in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh told the Times of India that he recommends cow urine as a health drink to boost immunity.

And while the verdict is still out on whether or not cow urine has any medicinal value, should you be interested in giving it a go, it is easily available on Amazon for a meagre ₹189 for 200ml.