Amul vice-chairman Valamji Humbal has asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ban People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) after the NGO suggested to the Indian dairy giant Amul to capitalise on what it called India’s and the whole world’s readiness for vegan milk and food instead of animal-sourced products.

Humbal said the NGO was trying to ruin the livelihood of 100 million people by tarnishing the image of the Indian dairy sector.

“Dairy sector is an important contributor to the GDP of India but the GDP can be affected adversely by misinformation spread by opportunistic elements like this NGO. Organisations like this are part of the conspiracy to render unemployed the milk producers of India,” Humbal said in a release.

“To ensure that such organisations stop their activities in India, milk producers of Gujarat urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate necessary action to impose a ban on organisations which are engaged in condemnable activity of tarnishing the image of dairy industry through misinformation campaign and then harm them by encouraging plants of multination companies producing synthetic milk,” he added.

The NGO had earlier suggested to Amul to exploit the market of only plant-based milk and food.

“Indian culture positions livestock as part of their family and raise them as a member of the family. Therefore, the question of cruelty does not arise at all… This entire episode is misinformation campaign and an attempt to break the Indian dairy industry, which is self-sufficient and thereby saves the country from the trouble of importing milk and milk products, and render unemployed 10 crore people who are relying on it. The move appears to have been prompted by various foreign companies,” said Humbal who is also the president of Sarhad Dairy, a member union of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).

Reacting to Humbal, PETA India’s CEO Dr Manilal Valliyate in a statement issued late Tuesday was quoted as saying by The Indian Express, “Amul has shown itself to be a bully, unable to appreciate the public’s concern for animals, and a business that apparently cannot change despite changing consumer trends. But no amount of bullying is going to change the fact: vegan eating is taking the world by storm.” (SAM)