In a nation where the cow is more than a milk-producing animal—where it is considered sacred, a symbol of life and sustainability, and an anchor of the rural economy—the prospect of approving lab-grown milk made from bovine cells raises unsettling questions. Is this merely technological progress, or a deeper cultural, economic, and ethical disruption?
Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) initiated consultations regarding the regulation of dairy analogues. One such product under global scrutiny is “cultivated milk”—a lab-developed milk-like substance, synthesized by growing cow cells (often using foetal bovine serum, FBS) in bioreactors. Branded as “clean milk” or “cultivated dairy,” it is marketed as a climate-friendly, cruelty-free innovation. But beneath this shiny surface lies a more complex—and disturbing—reality.
What is Cultivated Milk, Really?
Cultivated milk is not extracted from cows, nor is it plant-based. It is generated by harvesting bovine mammary cells (often using invasive biopsies), and then proliferating them in vitro using a cocktail of nutrients and hormones. Most alarmingly, a common base used for this cell culture is Foetal Bovine Serum (FBS)—extracted from the blood of unborn calves.
This method is closer to lab-grown meat than any dairy process. It involves animal tissue, not plant substitutes. Calling it “milk” is, in many ways, a misrepresentation. The process itself is fundamentally non-vegetarian, and ethically questionable.
In India, a country with a strong tradition of vegetarianism, this is not just a question of food categorization—it is a question of identity and faith.
Key Concerns Every Indian Must Know
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Cultivated milk is an animal cell-based product, grown using cow cells and sometimes FBS—rendering it incompatible with vegetarian ethics.
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India is the world’s largest milk producer, contributing over 24% of global production—powered not by industrial mega-farms, but by millions of small farmers, women, and rural families.
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Over 70% of Indians consume milk daily, and dairy is deeply integrated into their religious, cultural and nutritional traditions.
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Over 100 million rural households are directly dependent on livestock, especially cattle—most of them being landless, small and marginal farmers.
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Indigenous breeds like Sahiwal, Gir, and Rathi are not just milk sources but genetic treasures. If lab-milk replaces natural dairy, these breeds and the gobar-based organic economy around them may vanish.
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The traditional model of cooperative dairy production, established under Operation Flood, will be disrupted—potentially leading to large-scale displacement and loss of rural livelihoods.
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Lab-grown milk represents a covert cultural aggression—an imposition of a market-centric, patent-driven agenda in a land where the cow is revered as a deity.
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Promoted under the garb of climate change mitigation and cruelty-free nutrition, lab milk is ultimately a profit-driven multinational enterprise, not a moral revolution.
Ethical and Cultural Dilemma
India is not the United States, Singapore, or Israel—where such technologies are being explored as alternatives to industrial meat and dairy systems. In India, milk is not just a commodity; it is sacred. It is part of offerings in temples, rituals at birth and death, and the basis of Ayurvedic healing.
The introduction of FBS-grown milk is not a mere food-tech decision. It is a civilizational crossroads. How can a devout vegetarian consume a substance cultured in foetal blood—even if rebranded as “milk”?
Even the kitchen culture speaks volumes: in many Indian households, vessels once used for meat are not reused for vegetarian food. How then can a society deeply sensitive to such nuances accept lab-grown animal-cell milk?
Food Safety and Scientific Uncertainty
Despite the marketing sheen, there is no long-term human safety data on cultivated milk. Institutions like Cornell Alliance for Science and the Centre for Food Safety have expressed concern over:
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Use of synthetic growth hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified cells
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Potential for cell mutation, contamination, or unknown toxicities
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Lack of naturally occurring enzymes, probiotics, and immune factors found in real milk
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High dependency on energy-intensive bioreactors, which may offset the supposed environmental benefits
The US FDA has approved such products for limited trials, not for mass consumption. India, with its dense and diverse dietary patterns, should demand far more rigorous, India-specific safety studies before even considering approval.
WTO and Patent Trap
Most companies developing cultivated milk are foreign multinationals. Their goal is not just to sell an alternative to milk—but to control the dairy chain through patented production processes.
If India allows such products without strict regulation:
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Multinationals may capture dairy markets, marginalizing small producers
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Future generations may be dependent on patented technologies
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The very act of owning a cow may be questioned—“Why maintain cattle when milk can be printed in a lab?”
Through mechanisms like WTO, IPEF, and FTAs (Free Trade Agreements), foreign pressure is building. India’s resistance so far is commendable—but it must continue.
Role of FSSAI
In early 2025, FSSAI released a draft consultation paper addressing dairy analogues—including plant-based milks, synthetic butter, and potentially lab-grown dairy. It proposes:
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Mandatory use of terms like “non-dairy analogue” on packaging
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Clear ingredient lists for all products
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No sale of such products in loose or unpackaged form
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Strict licensing protocols for analogue production and marketing
These are good first steps. But the unique ethical, cultural, and religious sensitivities around cell-grown dairy demand even more specific, transparent regulation.
What Should India Do?
Given the enormous implications—scientific, economic, ecological and spiritual—India must take a cautious, consultative approach.
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Cultivated milk should be classified as a non-vegetarian product, with compulsory disclosure of its origin (including use of FBS).
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Strict traceability protocols must be enforced: consumers deserve to know exactly what they are consuming.
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Before any commercial approval, extensive independent safety testing must be conducted, preferably under Indian environmental and genetic conditions.
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Stakeholders including farmers, scientists, consumers, religious scholars and ethicists must be engaged before policy is drafted.
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Indigenous cattle-based dairy systems should be revived and strengthened, not dismantled.
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India must not become a dumping ground for experimental products developed in foreign labs for foreign problems.
A Fight for Culture and Livelihood
This is not a battle against science—it is a call for responsible, inclusive, and ethical science. A call to remember that:
“The best technology is one that supports harmony with life and nature—not one that reduces them to commodities.”
India’s cow-centric village economy is not an obstacle to development. It is a living model of sustainable economy, ecological balance and decentralised livelihood. If anything, it should be showcased to the world—not sacrificed at the altar of synthetic convenience.
Cultivated milk is not just about food—it is about faith, livelihood, sovereignty, and the future of India’s rural civilisation.
Let us not be seduced by sterile promises of cruelty-free perfection, while turning a blind eye to the violence it inflicts upon culture, conscience and communities.
Because this isn’t just a debate about milk.
It is a question of who we are—and who decides what we consume.
