Cow Appreciation Day Prompts PETA India Billboard Blitz Urging Public to Ditch Cruel Paneer for Tofu

For Immediate Release:

08 July 2025

Contact:

Hiraj Laljani; [email protected]

Sanskriti Bansore; [email protected]

Ahmedabad – Just in time for Cow Appreciation Day (8 July), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) has erected a bold new sky-high vegan appeal in Ahmedabad and other dairy-heavy regions across the country asking the public to swap paneer with tofu, – a cruelty-free choice that does not involve separating calves from their mothers or causing them harm. The billboard, which proclaims, “Tofu is a cow’s best friend,” highlights that cows and calves suffer for dairy and invites people to enjoy tofu, a delicious protein-packed vegan staple instead.

PETA India’s billboard is located at 132 Feet Ring Rd, Nava Vadaj, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380013.

“Mother cows love their babies, but the dairy industry tears them apart shortly after birth so humans can make paneer from the milk meant for their calves,” says Dr Kiran Ahuja, PETA India’s Senior Manager of Vegan and Corporate Projects. “No one who respects or reveres cows should consume dairy, and PETA India urges everyone to try healthy and tasty tofu instead.”

Cows are devoted mothers who form a strong bond with their calves but in the dairy industry, female cows are impregnated repeatedly while their calves are torn away from them so their milk can be stolen and sold to humans. These days, cows and buffaloes used for dairy are often raised in a factory-like environment and artificially inseminated (that is, raped as workers insert an arm into the rectum and a metal rod carrying bull semen into the vagina).

Male calves, who are of no value to the dairy business, are typically starved, cast out onto the street or sold for slaughter. Females are sentenced to the same fate as their mothers: They’re used as milk machines until their bodies give out, at which point many are abandoned or slaughtered. In India, the dairy sector is the primary supplier of cattle to the beef industry.

Tofu is lower in calories and fat than paneer, contains no cholesterol, and is a good source of protein, iron, and calcium (especially when calcium-set). It’s also vegan and safe for people who are lactose-intolerant—which includes the majority of Indians. In contrast, paneer is made from dairy, which contains lactose and saturated fat. Cow’s milk is a common allergen and dairy consumption has been linked with increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain hormone-related cancers.

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow PETA India on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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