The ‘myth’ological ban on beef

Karan Sehgal / The Goan March 14, 2015

Beef shops are all shut in the markets of Goa. At the same time, Maharashtra government has recently banned the slaughter of bull and bullocks. Put together, it paints an extremely grim picture for beef lovers in the state of Goa. The whole issue of beef not available in Goa is riddled has so many myths circulating around it that we at The Goan felt it is only appropriate that we will de-mystify those myths and bring some facts to the table

Beef shops are all shut in the markets of Goa. At the same time, Maharashtra government has recently banned the slaughter of bull and bullocks. Put together, it paints an extremely grim picture for beef lovers in the state of Goa. A number of restaurants in Goa have few days of beef stored in their cold storage which means unless supply of beef is resumed in the state they will be forced to change their menu. Besides, beef-lovers are returning empty-handed from the market as beef traders have shut their shops.

Beef traders have shut their shops as a protest against unreasonable business scenario in the state. They alleged that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are not allowing trucks with cattle or beef to enter Goa from Karnataka using one pretext or the other. The NGOs allege that the beef traders are indulging in illegal business practices such as not having required certificates or having fake certificates; they even allege that beef traders slaughter cows, calves, which isn’t allowed under the law. The net result of all these factors is beef traders are finding it very difficult to carry on with the business in Goa.

The situation is so complex that if the law is followed in its true spirit most meat traders (which includes all kinds of meat and not just beef) will be found to be violating it since this industry has gone more or less unregulated in Goa just as in larger India. There are roadside stalls, there are shops without proper air-conditioning, sometimes without even a water supply, and there are questionable business practices like meat-sellers don’t clean the knife and other equipment properly. There are then lapses in terms of not getting required approvals from administrative bodies like panchayats and municipal corporations. It is these factors which have brought a halt on the beef trade in Goa and not the recent ban in Maharashtra.

Naturally, the consumers are complaining and Goa Meat Complex is perturbed. Lyndon Monteiro, chairman of Goa Meat Complex, “We had given a deadline to all beef traders to open their shops by Wednesday, March 11, 2015, but they didn’t open their shops. Due to this, we have decided to make fresh certified beef available to consumers in Goa”. However, Goa Meat Complex is not in the business of selling beef; it is a slaughterhouse and a government undertaking.

Monteiro’s job becomes complex because his objective is to make beef available to beef starved people of Goa. He may choose to get into beef retailing in the short run but in the long run the trade will have to sort out its business model itself. Monteiro’s initiative of making beef available are likely to send panic waves to the already grieving beef traders as they will see them being replaced for the task of beef selling. Monteiro will have to walk a very fine line here.

But, Goa Meat Complex’s isn’t the only government body which will have to find a way out of this mess as even food and drugs administration (FDA) department will have to work extremely hard to sensitise various stakeholders in the beef trade as to what the regulations actually require because the situation at present is miserable. In many cases, municipalities haven’t even provided a basic infrastructure to sell not just beef but any kind of meat.

The entire administration will have to improve drastically. Panchayats, municipal corporations, animal husbandry department and FDA will all have to consolidate their databases on beef traders and iron out anomalies. The task is going to be herculean. As of now, FDA has just visited meat shops in municipalities in Goa and has found out a very high number of irregularities. FDA is planning to visit villages soon to inspect and it is likely that it will find irregularities there too.

The need of the hour is long-term solution and not a short-term fix. Unfortunately, there are no short-cuts here. The process of improvement must start here and only in few years’ time that one can expect that various government departments will have consolidated database about beef-traders, beef-traders will know what exactly the regulations are, consumers will know what kind of product they should buy and where from.

In the meanwhile, the issue is becoming contentious with every passing day. The whole issue of beef not available in Goa is riddled has so many myths circulating around it that we at The Goan felt it is only appropriate that we will de-mystify those myths and bring some facts to the table.

Myth 1: All beef is cow meat

The Goan opinion: This wrongly held belief is at the centre of any kind of debate on the ban on beef. By definition, beef is cattle meet, which means the meat of cow, bull, ox, male buffalo and female buffalo are all termed as beef. What is loosely being described as a ban on beef in Maharashtra is actually a ban on the slaughter of bull and bullocks (also termed as ox). Maharashtra still doesn’t have ban on the slaughter of male buffalo and female buffalo. Interestingly, Maharashtra has a ban on the slaughter of cows since 1976. Goa too has the ban on the slaughter of cows. As per the law in Goa, there is a ban on the slaughter of female buffalos too. However, Goan law allows bull, ox and male buffalo of more than twelve years of age can be slaughtered if they can’t be used for economic purposes like agriculture.

Myth 2: The recent ban on the slaughter of bull and bullocks in Maharashtra will have adverse impact on the tourism industry in Goa

The Goan opinion: It is true that Goa hardly makes its own beef, which is mostly because the number of cattle in the state is just too low for it to be self-sustainable for its beef consumption. Besides, Goa has a large Christian population and a small Muslim population too, which means a good portion of its overall beef demand comes from its own local population. Then, Goa is an international tourist destination and travellers from all parts of the world come to the state every year. In fact, a number of tourists spend a part of their year, sometime stretching upto six months, in Goa. All this, put together, shows that the demand for beef in Goa is quite high. And, since Goa doesn’t produce its own beef, it has to come from neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. But, Goa gets most of its beef from Karnataka and not Maharashtra as confirmed by JafarBepari, president of Qureshi Meat Traders Association of Goa. And, since the ban pertains to Maharashtra, it per se has no impact on Goa and hence no impact on tourism industry

Myth 3: Beef makes up for a large part of sales at all hotels and restaurants catering to tourists

The Goan opinion: This is not entirely true. However, this is not entirely incorrect either. Shridhar Nair, general manager, The Leela Goa, said, “Not even 5% of our hotel’s food sales are on account of beef. Most of the international tourists in Goa like to have seafood for which Goa is extremely famous”. However, there is a counter-point to this. Lloyd Braganza owner of House of Lloyds in Saipem said, “My place is famous for pork chops and beef steaks and therefore for me the combined share of pork and beef sales of my total sales is a lot higher than for most restaurants”. Lester Remedios, owner of Angaara restaurant in Candolim, said, “We are basically a bar-be-cue and grill restaurant and therefore the share of beef is very high in our overall food sales. Beef accounts for 70% of our food sales. We realised couple of weeks back that supply of beef was going to get affected, so we bought extra beef and stocked it, which will run out in a week’s time. We were actually thinking in the morning what to replace beef with in our menu”. Overall, there are restaurants which get a high share of their sales from beef; however, it is not true for all.

Myth 4: Goa Meat Complex is shut and hence beef can’t be produced in Goa.

The Goan opinion: This is the mother of all myths in Goa. Goa Meat Complex is government undertaking. By law, all animals, which can be slaughtered in Goa, have to be taken to Goa Meat Complex. Most meat traders have complained that Goa Meat Complex has been shut for the last two years due to renovation work and therefore cattle can’t be taken there for slaughter. Lyndon Monteiro, chairman of Goa Meat Complex, said, “We are not shut. Traders are not bringing cattle for slaughter and hence we aren’t able to produce meat”. To understand why cattle are not being brought to Goa Meat Complex, one has to understand the nuts and bolts of this complicated business. As discussed already, only bull, ox and male buffalo of more than 12 years of age can be slaughtered in Goa and that too when it can’t be used for economical purposes, which means not all cattle can be slaughtered. When a cattle is brought to Goa Meat Complex, an ante-mortem is done to make sure that the animal is fit for human consumption. For this purpose, a competent authority is posted by the government. If the authority feels that the animal is not fit for human consumption, then the slaughter is not allowed. On the same lines, post killing the animal, a post-mortem is performed to ascertain that the animal is fit for consumption or not. Obviously, the government has put controls in place following which is a complex process which not every trader is willing to do.

Gaurav Yadav, an animal rights activist, said, “In 2013, when non-governmental organisations (NGOs) raided Goa Meat Complex, they found 19 calves there while it is illegal to slaughter young cattle. Surprisingly, the doctor at Goa Meat Complex had given approval for their slaughter. In another instance, traders had brought pregnant cows for slaughter. These cows later delivered calves when they were brought to goshalas”. Clearly, the law was not being followed. The combined impact of all these factors affected the activities of Goa Meat Complex.

However, it must be realised that a very complex legal structure in India is also to be blamed for this to an extent. The slaughter of cow is banned in Maharashtra. But, the slaughter of buffalo is not banned there. Suppose, a truck is coming from Maharashtra to Goa with beef, an issue can always be raised as to what kind of beef that is. For this purpose, police at check-post should be equipped enough to check. It requires very high efficiency in law enforcement which more often than not is not the case in India.

Consider this. The high court few years back had said that a NGO representative should be present at Goa Meat Complex to make sure that nothing illegal happens while slaughtering of cattle. The question to be asked is why the court had to rely on a non-government body to make sure that the laws made by the government are implemented? The question to be asked is why the state government is failing so badly to implement the law in the matters pertaining to slaughter of animals. Only when the high court realised that illegal activities were happening despite the rules and procedures prescribed by the government that it ordered for the presence of an NGO representative. The question to be asked then is how people should know whether the representative and the NGO are genuine or not. Clearly, this is not a simple case of Goa Meat Complex being alleged to be shut. It is a case of unscrupulous elements in meat trade; it is a case of extremely weak implementation of law; it is a case of law itself being extremely complicated.

Myth 5: Traders aren’t in the wrong and all of them are victims of NGO actions

The Goan opinion: Traders complain that NGO activities create problems at Goa-Karnataka border when they try bringing cattle or beef from the other side of the border. To this Gaurav Yadav, an animal rights activist, replied, “There are regulations which govern the movement of cattle and beef. For instance, beef should be in ice-box. But, such regulations are flaunted on a regular basis. Then, a certificate has to be issued from the slaughter-house that the meat is indeed of a bull and not of a cow. We have found cases wherein these traders had fake certificates. It is only when such cases have been found that NGOs have raised their voice”.

Moreover, it is clear that not any and everyone had problems at check-post. Shridhar Nair, general manager, The Leela Goa, said, “We get our supply of beef from Karnataka. We have a supplier who supplies beef to us at our door-step. We have never had such problems”. Traders are on the receiving end of NGO actions also because the regulations governing the trade of all kinds of meat aren’t strongly enforced in India. So, the blame goes to both administrators and people practicing the trade. However, this is not to suggest that all traders are not following the rules. But those who are not following it are high in number. For instance, meat shops are required to have a water heater as per food and drugs administration (FDA) guidelines so that they have hot water to clean the meat. A number of meat shops use heating rods to boil the water, which is not as per the guidelines. Sometimes, municipalities haven’t given the water connection. The regulations even require all shops to be in a structurally sound structure but often that is not the case. This is not specific to Goa as it is a pan India phenomenon. There are many other regulations as per food and drugs administration too. For instance, walls of meat-shops should be easily washable, which also is not followed in most cases. A source on the condition of anonymity informed, “Majority of meat traders in Margao were operating on Sopo, which is one day tax”. This shows that they don’t have long-term permissions from municipality. Again, this is not just a lapse on the part of trader but even on the part of municipality. But, the point remains that it will be reductive to say that all traders are being troubled at Goa-Karnataka border by NGOs 

Myth 6: Suddenly FDA department has woken up to implement rules, while not much was done earlier

The Goan opinion: This again is a misunderstanding of the situation. It should be taken into account that ‘Food Safety & Standards Act’ (FSSA) came into being only in 2011. Besides, beef isn’t the only item which is covered by this act. All meats and other food items and even drugs are covered by this act. FSSA shook the entire food industry in India as they all had to comply with a new act. Moreover, the other laws which governed these industries are still applicable. Besides, it was only in 2014 that the Government of India issued advisories saying that items which weren’t brought under the ambit of FDA should be brought under it. As a result, slaughter-houses, meat-traders and even liquor were brought under FDA only in 2014. But there were other lapses too. For instance, meat traders are governed by panchayat rules and also municipality regulations. Reliable sources said that before FDA department came into being no government agency had updated information about number of meat-traders, their names, their shop details as to what kind of facility they operated in. FDA officials have been going to different municipalities in Goa and finding out irregularities in meat-trade. The sequence of all these events from 2011 to 2014 shows that FDA hasn’t suddenly woken up to implement the rules. Besides, FDA standards will be applicable to other varieties of meats like chicken, mutton and pork as well, which means that beef traders aren’t the only one who will have to comply with the guidelines. Besides, this paper visited a prominent importer of various kinds of frozen meats who supplies to major hotels and restaurants in Goa who said that he has faced no problems from any government department ever because he has got all the approvals and he follows all laws. This again shows that people who are following law aren’t facing any problems. 

Quotes:

“Post the inspections carried out by FDA, I am writing to all municipalities in Goa to look into the feasibility of providing bare minimum infrastructure at market places for the sale of meat”

-Salim A. Veljee, director, Food and Drugs Administration

“The situation indeed is very serious. I have been getting calls from other restaurants asking me if I can give them beef since they have totally run out of stock. I must also add that the quality of beef, when it is available, is also very bad. Since my restaurant is known for beef steaks, all these factors adversely affect us”

-Lloyd Braganza, owner, House of Lloyds

“The kind of cruelty towards cattle we have seen when it is brought from Karnataka to Goa is unspeakable. There have been cases wherein cattle which can be used for economical purposes is brought for slaughter, which is not allowed. In the past, first information report (FIR) was filed against people indulging in illegal activities in beef business but no concrete action was taken”

-Amrut Singh, animal rights activists

“We had given deadline to all beef traders to open their shops by March 11, 2015, which they failed follow. As a result of which, we have decided to make fresh beef available to people of Goa, even though beef selling isn’t our business”

-Lyndon Monteiro, chairman, Goa