The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : The milky way to health just got pricier

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 13, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

The milky way to health just got pricier

Deepa Kurup

Milk is essential for children and it may have become unaffordable for the poor

— Photo: N. Balaji

NOT A DROP TO WASTE: That glass of milk has vital proteins.

BANGALORE: Remember the bouncy ad jingle by Operation Flood which plugged milk as the rocking drink? The cola addicts may not view milk as cool but there are — obviously healthier — individuals who are bound to feel the pinch with Nandini milk being pricier by two rupees.

While this is not likely to stop people from buying milk, it raises the question of affordability for the poor.

Already, most brands in the market cost more than Nandini milk. While this increase will benefit members of the cooperatives by raising their income, the urban poor are likely to find it a tad more difficult to buy milk for their children.

“The doctor advises us to give a glass of milk to our children.

“We breastfeed our children for as long as we can. We cannot afford to buy a litre of milk every day,” says Lakshmi, who lives in Shantinagar. The milk brought by the milk-man is affordable, but is so dilute that we cannot think of buying it, she adds.

A majority of children in India suffer from protein energy malnutrition. “Milk is very important for children and contributes to their physical and mental growth.

“Once they are weaned from the breast, it is important to give them milk,” says Vinay Viswanath, a doctor at the Community Health Centre.

“People these days look for calcium supplements.

Traditional Indian diet involves several diary products which are part of a balanced diet. Green vegetables have proteins which are not easily absorbable,” he says.

For vegetarians, milk is the only source of animal protein and therefore should be an integral part of the adult diet.

So, where does milk factor on the cool-o-meter as far as youngsters go? “I don’t know about the prices but I like flavoured milk and a lot of people I know prefer a bottle of milk to Coke or Pepsi,” says Rejo Mathew.

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