# Why do Hindus eat butter if they wont eat beef? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2008, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316 "2008-06-18T08:35:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scrambledeggs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@scrambledeggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scrambledeggs)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/1 "2008-06-18T08:35:08Z")
I notice that Indian cooking uses clarified butter–I presume this is cow’s butter? I thought Hindus will not eat beef and worship the cow–but they eat the butter? Or is it goat’s milk butter? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/2 "2008-06-18T08:41:49Z")
You can get butter without killing the cow. In fact, you can keep getting butter as long as you don’t kill her. Veganism this ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![scrambledeggs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@scrambledeggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scrambledeggs)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/3 "2008-06-18T08:44:58Z")
Good point – I get that, but if you are worshipping something, seems strange to be using its mammary gland fat as a cooking lubrication. Butter is from the cream of the cow’s milk–so aren’t they interfering with the calf’s diet? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/4 "2008-06-18T08:55:07Z")
How about if the calf is weaned? Milk production doesn’t stop as long as you keep milking. Hinduism considers the milk as a gift, so the cow is honored for providing this gift. See [Sacred cow - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_cow) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/5 "2008-06-18T11:36:03Z")
I think you are using a value of “worship” that does not match the attitude of the average Hindu person. “Veneration” or “respect” might fit the situation better. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/6 "2008-06-18T12:14:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Good point – I get that, but if you are worshipping something, seems strange to be using its mammary gland fat as a cooking lubrication. > > Butter is from the cream of the cow’s milk–so aren’t they interfering with the calf’s diet? It all depends upon how you think about it. If you view the cow as the source of all that’s holy, eatings its butter would be practically a sacrament. It’s not just the butter – Hindus use cow dung extebsively as fuel and an element of construction material, and they use the milk (of course) and milk products, and have no problem using cows for labor. If you’re going to use all that, butter is no problem. Then, of course, there’s the Cultural Materialist view, which holds that the usual wisdom has it the wrong way – cows aren’t considered sacred and this not eaten (although their products are used) – cows are sacred BECAUSE their products are valuable – much more valuable than the one-time virtue of eating them would be – and so must be held as revered and protected. See Marvin Harris’ work on this in (for instance) **Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches** or **FGood to Eat/The Sacred Cow and the Abominable Pig**. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/7 "2008-06-18T13:03:41Z")
It is also worth noting that historically some Hindus have eaten beef and some do today. Hinduism is not monolithic in that regard: [http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/08/14/stories/13140833.htm](http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/08/14/stories/13140833.htm) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/8 "2008-06-18T13:04:05Z")
Why didn’t Gandhi consume dairy? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/9 "2008-06-18T13:29:45Z")
A little bit of mythology: The story I was taught, being a North Indian Punjabi, was that when Krishna was on this Earth, living in Gokul village, one day he told the villagers that no longer would they send tribute to the evil Lord Kans in Mathura. When the villagers protested and said “He will kill us”, and “He demands our respect and worship”, Krishna said, “Why would you worship someone like him, an evil man? If you must worship, worship the cow, like a mother, who gives milk and butter to us.” Plus Krishna was a cowherd. Later he also told them to not worship Indra, the god of the heavens, because he did nothing for us. “Instead, worship Govardhan Pahaar (pahaar=mountain) for it shades us, and we get resources from there.” Other than that, it makes complete sense to me. We don’t worship the cow like it’s a god, or something, venerate really is a better word. I personally have never seen a cow statue by itself in someone’s temple, though I have seen Krishna leaning against a cow or sitting on one…but that is to Krishna, not the cow itself. We’ll anoint the cow and put flowers around its neck, they’re allowed somewhat free rein in Delhi and Punjab at least but no one gets on their knees and prays to the Great Cow God. As for why Gandhi did’t eat dairy? Guy was weird anyway…I presume for the health benefits. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/10 "2008-06-18T14:46:05Z")
I’m thinking about starting a new faith based on love of bacon- we will give thanks to our delicious piggy overlords. (Lapsed Hindu here - my family eats beef and wears leather; neither are particularly uncommon practices, particularly in Maharashtra. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/11 "2008-06-18T14:51:40Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] I’m thinking about starting a new faith based on love of bacon- we will give thanks to our delicious piggy overlords. (Lapsed Hindu here - my family eats beef and wears leather; neither are particularly uncommon practices, particularly in Maharashtra. [/QUOTE] I could never ever be a vegetarian again - steak is the food of the gods. I could give up chicken and pork and even fish but dear god in heaven don’t take my steak away. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/12 "2008-06-18T15:06:57Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m thinking about starting a new faith based on love of bacon- we will give thanks to our delicious piggy overlords. As Harris points out in the two books I cite above, pig-eating, although forbidden not only to Jews and Muslims, but also the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians, was practically a religious duty among some South Pacific Islanders (I don’t recall which ones). There aren’t too many large meat-bearing animals there, so it’s not surprising, especially if you buy into his anthropological reseatrch strategy. So maybe you’d be better off moving to Samoa, or wherever that was. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/13 "2008-06-18T15:33:34Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] I’m thinking about starting a new faith based on love of bacon- we will give thanks to our delicious piggy overlords. (Lapsed Hindu here - my family eats beef and wears leather; neither are particularly uncommon practices, particularly in Maharashtra. [/QUOTE] You’re a bit late on this. We already have a bacon-worshiping cult in MPSIMS. bacon bacon bacon ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/14 "2008-06-18T15:45:07Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] You’re a bit late on this. We already have a bacon-worshiping cult in MPSIMS. bacon bacon bacon [/QUOTE] Yes, but you don’t have a _church_. I’m taking this thang to the big time. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/15 "2008-06-18T16:13:43Z")
The No. 1 or No. 2 _reason_ for veneration of the cow in Hinduism is that dairy products are \*critical \*to Hindus’ diets, even among non-vegetarian Hindus. In other words (accepting the terminology of the OP), Hindus worship the cow (in part) _because_ they depend on eating the butter. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/16 "2008-06-18T16:16:37Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] It all depends upon how you think about it. If you view the cow as the source of all that’s holy, eatings its butter would be practically a sacrament. It’s not just the butter – Hindus use cow dung extebsively as fuel and an element of construction material, and they use the milk (of course) and milk products, and have no problem using cows for labor. If you’re going to use all that, butter is no problem. [/quote] Indeed, there are certain religious ceremonies in which all the “fluids” available from a cow play a part, including the milk, the saliva, the urine, and the dung. (I thought there was a fifth one, but I can’t seem to come up with it.) ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/17 "2008-06-18T16:19:09Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] Indeed, there are certain religious ceremonies in which all the “fluids” available from a cow play a part, including the milk, the saliva, the urine, and the dung. (I thought there was a fifth one, but I can’t seem to come up with it.) [/QUOTE] Yeah. I was in my late twenties before I found out about this one. Not to mention on the other hand what the _Shivling_ and the milk poured over it _really_ means. :dubious: Thanks, Mom and Dad. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/18 "2008-06-18T16:29:20Z")
The _pañcagavya_– from _pañca_ ‘five’ and _gav-_ ‘cow’. [QUOTE=acsenray] Indeed, there are certain religious ceremonies in which all the “fluids” available from a cow play a part, including the milk, the saliva, the urine, and the dung. (I thought there was a fifth one, but I can’t seem to come up with it.) [/QUOTE] Yogurt. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/19 "2008-06-18T16:32:37Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] I’m thinking about starting a new faith based on love of bacon- we will give thanks to our delicious piggy overlords. [/QUOTE] Note that it’s common among hunter-gatherers to venerate the animals they kill and eat. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316/20 "2008-06-18T17:19:24Z")
Don’t many Christians eat the blood and flesh of Jesus on a weekly basis? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hindus-eat-butter-if-they-wont-eat-beef/453316.md?page=2)