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A controversy has been caused by an Indian doctor who claimed paneer and milk to be non-vegetarian foods.
The internet said that dairy products don’t require animal killing. (Photo Credits: X)
An Indian doctor recently declared paneer and milk to be non-vegetarian meals, after which it has caused a stir online. Dr Sylvia Karpagam’s claims that milk and paneer are not vegetarian foods because they come from animal origins has offended hundreds of vegetarians on social media.
A photograph of a vegetarian thali that another doctor had uploaded on X (formerly Twitter), claiming to have “protein, good fats, and fibre,” prompted Dr Sylvia Karpagam to comment. The thali (or plate of food) in question included a bowl of unsweetened kheer, paneer, moong dal, and a salad consisting of carrots, cucumber, onions, raw coconut, and walnuts.
The other doctor (Sunita Sayammagaru) who posted the image had captioned, “Dinner plate of husband. Vegetarian meal. Has protein, good fats and fibre.” She posted the photo on February 4 on X and so far it has garnered over 1.2 million views.
In response to the post, Dr Sylvia Karpagam, the working editor of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, stated that paneer and milk are not vegetarian foods. “Also paneer and milk are not ‘veg’. They are animal source foods…..same like chicken, fish, beef and all,” she commented on February 6. So far, her post has racked up over 95,000 views.
Many people on X expressed their opinions in support of or opposition to Dr Sylvia Karpagam’s classification, making her post quite contentious. Meanwhile, many social media users claimed that since no animals are killed to produce paneer, milk, or other milk products, they are vegetarian.
A user said, “No one is killed … to eat paneer or milk.”
Another wrote, “Milk products are the animal products that no animal has to be killed and hence it is indeed vegetarian and not vegan, any killing or harm of animal is on the milking set up, veg means vegetarian.”
Dr Sylvia Karpagam went on to question why, using this reasoning, eggs are regarded as “non-vegetarian” if no hens are killed. A lot of people reacted negatively to her claim that milk is not vegetarian. While some chastised her for disseminating false information, others questioned whether she had created the contentious post only as “rage bait” to increase interaction.
“You are using the definition of ‘vegan’ to malign vegetarianism. Milk and meat are not the same… this is common sense. Your cunning technical twists will only expose you more,” a user commented on X.
“The definition of veg and vegan is different in the Indian context. Paneer is veg but not vegan,” another remarked.
- Location :
Delhi, India, India
