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This title is not from me! It is from Outlook. After 2 months out of India, I finally find again this wonderful news magazine! After a portrait of Amartya Sen, whose new book about justice will be soon launched, Debarshi Dasgupta tell us the story of these cow lovers in Kanpur (Andra Pradesh). It looks like all we are fighthing for: target the poorest, use natural ingredients, protect nature... but behind one can find racism and nationalism. A bit like in France, when I was working for local finance. You had the best, but also the worst, the ultra nationalists that was lending money only to local project. That what is exciting with social business in general, and maybe in business in general. You are always on the edge of your values. You think you are doing good, but in the global picture, are you so sure? Argumentative India, is the title of a previous book by Amartya Sen!

But back to this KGS, who is using all that it can from cow (dung, urine...) to create products and energy.

First, urine. Goloka Pay is made of 5% of cow urine, in orange and lemon flavours, and aims at compete with american sodas!That is one among many other products: tiles, radiation absorbing distempers using cow dung, bull's energy to turn waterpump or charge a battery, why not a battery model that use directly dung and urine to generate light. These products are sold through a network of 40 retail outlets across the country and could even be exported abroad.

KGS has been created in 1888, and protect cows in the state.  It is very close to BJP, the hindu part of India, and to the RSS's Cow Protection Unit. 

The main point is that all these products are invented to protect cow, but only cow from India, the read desi. And that s where caste system catch up even with cows. "At the top are the indigenous breeds, labelled "mata". They corner all the reverence. The foreign ones, like Holstein and Jersey, are second and referred to as "mausi". Buffaloes, the "buas", come a disdainful third." (quoted from Outlook 17 august, page 15). One of the leader of the organization has scientific proofs:"You ll never find an Indian breed near the garbage bin. It also knows when to stop eating. And when it calls out, it s a sweet 'mmmmaaaa' instead of the 'bhaaa' of foreign ones."

 Well, is it so different than when a microfinance or social organization is targeting only the upper caste of the villages they are working in, something extremely hard to investigate by their donors, especially when they send money from abroad? Not so simple, but not a reason to do nothing. After all, if "tout est bon dans le cochon" as it is said in France, one can select what he wants to eat by taking time on the ground!