Cow urine being sold in UK shops

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35749269

Cow urine is being sold alongside food in convenience stores in London against environmental health advice, the BBC's Asian Network has found.

The liquid is used by worshippers in some Hindu ceremonies - although it is illegal to sell for human consumption in England.

Known as gau mutra, it was found in several shops which also sold food.
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health warned against its sale where food was present.

All the bottles found by the BBC had a label in Hindi which said they contained cow urine intended "for religious purposes".

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Greenlaner

Ah, the joys of multiculturalism.

What do such people do with cow urine?

Reply 4

wabi-sabi

Original post by TaintedLight

What do such people do with cow urine?

According to the article:

"There has been a demand from the South Asian background. They use it for puja's [religious ritual], medicinal purposes or even cleaning in order to purify things..."

Huh?

Original post by Dhaal_Chawal

Practically speaking dont see what the problem is here. It's a risk to food safety, then just put tit in the part of the shop where there's no food.

This is like saying you shouldnt sell bleach (or anything else with with toxic chemicals) in a shop, because it's a risk to food safety. If its potentially harmful just move it away from where the food is sold.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 7

Zargabaath

What Dead Grapes said ^
I don't understand the issue. Sure it's gross, but how does it effect anyone else?

Original post by Greenlaner

Ah, the joys of multiculturalism.

Why is this a problem for you?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 8

The Epicurean

Original post by Greenlaner

Ah, the joys of multiculturalism.

I wonder how many deaths result from alcohol and cigarette consumption? Many harmful products are sold by shops. I don't think this is necessarily a multicultural issue. I see shops selling homoeopathic medicine and other similar quackery. I think the real issue is lack of education.

Reply 9

TaintedLight

Original post by wabi-sabi

According to the article:

"There has been a demand from the South Asian background. They use it for puja's [religious ritual], medicinal purposes or even cleaning in order to purify things..."

I'm sorry but your response isn't helpful

What part of urine has a medical property? What is supposed to be purified with cow urine? Isn't puja part of that red dot girls put on their forehead?

Reply 10

Greenlaner

Original post by The Epicurean

I certainly don't claim our own culture is without it's hangups. But it's absurd to me to add to that pile by importing cultural hangups from elsewhere in the world, which is exactly what a policy of multiculturalism and mass migration eventually brings. I suppose at least cow urine for sale is one of the more benign things to come out of it all, far less concerning than some of the other regressive attitudes and practices some people are bringing with them from the third world.

Good for them.

Original post by Dhaal_Chawal

Fantastic! I expect my nearest Asda store to commence with selling it by this summer, but I won't be holding my breath. :colonhash:

Reply 13

RomanKing

Is this an illegal activity? If not then no problem. If it is then I do have a problem with that.

I won't go to India and just do and sell what I want and break laws.

If it's a problem leave this part of the earth and go back to India just as I would leave saudi arabia if I wanted to drink a beer.

...

P.S. I don't think I've said anything offensive just common sense that in fact shows how ignorant and selfish other people may be.
Follow the Law!

Reply 14

Copperknickers

Original post by TaintedLight

I'm sorry but your response isn't helpful

What part of urine has a medical property? What is supposed to be purified with cow urine? Isn't puja part of that red dot girls put on their forehead?

Cows are regarded as sacred animals in Indian culture so their urine is regarded as having purification properties, not so much in medical terms but because of the ancient folk tradition that cows were a gift to humanity by the gods and thus all their bodily secretions have beneficial properties (obviously we use their milk and feces in our own culture frequently). A puja is a generic word for any Hindu religious ceremony.

I personally don't think cow urine has any real scientifically validated benefits but as has been said above, this doesn't actually cause any problems for anybody so long as the urine is kept away from food. Not that urine is actually harmful, it is actually pretty sterile hence why you can drink it in small quantities without suffering any adverse effects. People can start judging Hindu cultural practices when our own culture stops including mass consumption of harmful toxins such as alcohol and tobbacco smoke.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 15

TaintedLight

Original post by Death Grips

Inexact analogy. Some of us who may use cow dung for agricultural purposes may not want to buy the same form say, waitrose's detergent section.

Personally, there are lot of things in the supermarket I don't like, and I guess this is just the another commodity that joins the list. I'll get over it.

Original post by Copperknickers

Cows are regarded as sacred animals in Indian culture so their urine is regarded as having purification properties, not so much in medical terms but because of the ancient folk tradition that cows were a gift to humanity by the gods and thus all their bodily secretions have beneficial properties (obviously we use their milk and feces in our own culture frequently). A puja is a generic word for any Hindu religious ceremony.I personally don't think cow urine has any real scientifically validated benefits but as has been said above, this doesn't actually cause any problems for anybody so long as the urine is kept away from food. Not that urine is actually harmful, it is actually pretty sterile hence why you can drink it in small quantities without suffering any adverse effects. People can start judging Hindu cultural practices when our own culture stops including mass consumption of harmful toxins such as alcohol and tobbacco smoke.

....Thanks for the clarification.

If one side of the world is doing something silly, their practice is not justified by the actions of those who lives in the other side.

Even though you haven't fully clarified the purity point, the thought of showering yourself or some religious artefact in cow piss can rattle a lot of agnostic's thought process.