Animal rights organisation PETA is now locked in a tweet war of sorts with dairy company Amul and its MD RS Sodhi. And while this may seem like an unusual pairing at first glance, things become self-explanatory when you take into account the fact that the spat is over 'vegan milk'. In case you were wondering, Amul is not on board with the suggestion.
A day after the Indian wing of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) urged Amul to make a switch and begin producing vegan milk, the company has refused in no uncertain terms. Vegan milk is an umbrella term referring to various kinds of non-dairy, plant-based 'milks' such as soy, coconut and almond.
"Peta wants Amul to snatch livelihood of 100 mill poor farmers and handover it's all resources built in 75 years with farmers money to market genetically modified Soya of rich MNC at exhorbitant prices ,which average lower middle class can't afford," Sodhi tweeted soon after the initial report.
But while many thought this a compelling argument, PETA India was not swayed in the slightest. "Unilever is into vegan foods. Why can't Amul? Smart businesses respond to trends," the organisation jibed.
Since then, both parties have stuck to their stance, albeit in slightly different ways. PETA India has continued to respond to critical users, insisting that it was letting Amul know about the growing popularity of vegan food and encouraging "them to take advantage of it", much like Unilever, netizens were not convinced.
Sodhi for his part went a different route, retweeting several posts that countered PETA's claims and shed light on allegations against the company. This included a tweet by columnist Ashwani Mahajan that accused the activist group of "lobbying selectively".
While there is a growing demand for vegan milk alternatives in India and beyond, most including PETA appears to acknowledge the higher costs involved for consumers looking to make a switch. An FAQ article available on the PETA India website contends that with more and more animals being raised for food on "factory farms", it is "less expensive for farmers to absorb some losses than it is to provide humane conditions".
Over the last few hours, countless netizens have joined the debate, with some extolling the virtues of vegan milk even as others lashed out at PETA India over its various campaigns.
