DANGERS OF COW MEAT AND COW MILK CONSUMPTION

By Marcel Ekwezuo

 Good nutrition is crucial to healthy living because it leads to good health and to the desirable longevity of human life.

That is why we often hear that an individual’s diet helps the person to reach and to maintain a healthy weight, reduce risks of chronic and terminal diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Good diet without cow milk or cow meat promotes overall good health and longevity of life.

While there are too many varieties of food that constitute junk, it is informing to observe that one of the most common dietary deviants in South – South and South – East Nigeria is cow meat and cow milk.

It is however unfortunate that while every rationale human being in the twin regions of South – South and South – East Nigeria desires to live a healthy and prolonged life on earth, majority of the people lead a very risky lifestyle occasioned by awful consumption of cow meat and or  cow milk.

This is why it has become necessary to state unequivocally that cow meat, and or cow milk, are killer foods. Their consumption have been linked to the causes of certain mysterious deaths of our beloved ones which hitherto were usually alleged to have been orchestrated by poison inflicted by those who are in contention with the dead for one property or the other, especially lands!

A visit to most restaurants, ‘mama put’ joints, beer parlours, other food and drink serving places or even in most households, will baffle you!

In these places, while some people place order for ‘foo – foo’ and their favourite  soup garnished with cow tongue, cow neck, cow clod, the chuck steak and cow blades, all at a time; others make request for “cow meat towel”, “roundabout”, the brisket, cow’s silverside, and so on.

As if this is not enough, some of our people even go the extra mile of patronizing the cow milk - “fura and nunu”! Yet these are usually extracted and prepared in the most unhygienic conditions.

It may be pertinent to point out that most of these cow milk sellers usually use the same fingers they used to clean their cow milk bowels to lick their salivated tongue, clean the phlegm from their nose and use the same mucus stained fingers to add the fura into thenunu which they make people to drink together! 

But one thing those who still drink cow milk and or eat cow meat tend to have forgotten or which they seem to have taken for granted is this: apart from the superficial pleasant tastes they derive from cow meat and or cow milk, these products are deadly!

Cow meat and or cow milk are killers.

Scientists have since discovered that cow milk causes a number of health related problems which ravage our people.

For instance, it is gratifying to hear that people who eat food that does not contain cow milk are less likely to suffer from prostate cancer. In other words, anybody who is drinking cow milk is calling for prostate cancer.

Again, such diseases as nausea, cramps, gas, bloating of some parts of the body have been linked to cow milk consumption and other cow related products meaning that any man or woman who can stop eating cow meat and or drinking cow milk will most likely not be afflicted with these deadly and terminal illnesses.

In the same manner, authorities in health matters have discovered that people who eat cow meat will most likely die from heart diseases since most cow meats are high in saturated fat that causes heart diseases.

In fact, the numbers of illnesses causing deaths, linked to cow meat and milk consumption are too numerous including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular diseases (CDV) and too many others.

But one most dangerous human problems caused by cow meat and or milk consumption that must not be forgotten in Southern part of the country is the deliberate exchange of human lives for cattle by cattle herdsmen.

Only recently, a serving senator boldly affirmed in floor of the senate that the killer herdsmen value “their” cows more than humans because, “that is how God made them to be; that is how God created them and there is nothing anybody can do about that.” Yet another Professor to the chagrin and utmost consternation of Nigerians explained that as far as what he referred to as ‘law of conquered territory’ is concerned, certain states of the country is the hrdsmen’s birthright and so they have right to use it for cattle rearing, cow meat and for milk production.

Haba! This is most unfortunate.

These inflammable statements are completely out of what our desire to live together as a people demands.

While we advocate for a peaceful co – existence of one another, it may be necessary to invoke the biblical injunction which advocates for the cutting of a finger that may lead one to hell to make rest of the body inherit heaven according to the book of Matthew chapter5:30; 18:8.

It is to this end that a law prohibiting the consumption of cow meat, cow milk, sale of cows, treatment of cow meat or milk consumption related illnesses in all parts of southern Nigeria in our health institutions may indeed be solution to the current national malady. After all, when there is no consumption of cattle products or treatment of cow related diseases in our hospitals, the herdsmen killers may find alternative market in other countries for their goods.

Of course to achieve this lofty objective, various institutions and organizations as well as individuals should through constant writing and peaceful assemblage of their people mount pressures on the honourable member representing their state constituency for a law prohibiting the consumption of cow meat and cow milk in their state.

When a well articulated law prohibiting the consumption of cow meat and milk consumption is in place, cattle phobia currently ravaging the country shall be a thing of the past.