Know Why Amul And PETA Are Engaged In Twitter War

A war of words has erupted between Amul and People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. The animal rights organisation suggested the dairy brand to switch to producing vegan milk, reported NDTV.

It said that Amul would benefit from the "booming vegan food and milk market". In response, Amul said "foreign-funded NGOs are running campaigns to tarnish the Indian dairy industry".

In a tweet, RS Sodhi, Managing Director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells Amul-branded dairy products, said PETA wants to snatch the livelihoods of farmers. He added that most milk farmers in the country are landless, and shifting to vegan substitutes might not be feasible.

The dairy cooperative alleged that foreign-funded NGOs are running campaigns to tarnish the Indian dairy industry. The development came days after advertising industry entity Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) dismissed a plea filed by PETA against Amul for stating that plant-based products can't be called 'milk'.

The cooperative dairy society has been against the use of the term milk for plant-based alternatives like almond, soya, oats. Last year in November, Amul had slammed these manufacturers and approached the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to remove the term milk from their branding.

In March this year, Amul rolled out advertisements to bust myths about plant-based beverages. In response, PETA, Beauty without Cruelty and Sharan India filed a case with ASCI. In May, PETA wrote a letter to Amul asking them to shift to producing vegan milk.

Last week, Valamji Humbal, Vice Chairman of GCMMF, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra urging him to ban PETA.

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