It is old news that cow dung cakes sell on e-commerce sites like Amazon on Flipkart. However, turns out that cow dung has now gone international. According to a tweet, cow dung cakes are being sold in Edison, New Jersey, USA only for $2.99 (Rs 214).
Twitter user named Samar Halarnkar shared a picture of a pack of 10 cow dung cakes, that his cousin spotted being sold in a New Jersey store. Those 10 pieces cost only Rs 214, which is cheaper than some listings on Amazon and Flipkart. The pack mentions that the cakes are for religious purposes and are not edible (wow, that really needs to be mentioned?) and it also mentions, that this is a ¡®product of India¡¯.?
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Twitter/Ebay
The now viral image was tweeted with the caption, ¡®My cousin sent me this. Available at a grocery store in Edison, New Jersey. $2.99 only. My question: Are these imported from desi cows or are they from Yankee cows?¡¯
That indeed is a good question. If it is a ¡®product of India¡¯, does that mean that the dung belongs to desi cows and was merely imported to New Jersey?
What else could that mean? That the concept of using cow dung originates from India?
It is probably means the former and is a safe marketing strategy. Indians living in America might not necessarily trust foreign cows' dung to have the same ¡®properties¡¯ as the dung of desi cows.?
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A cow dung product listed on Flipkart comes with the description:?
They are made by hand by village women, near thanjavur and are traditionally made from cow dung. One dung cake of an average size gives 2100 kJ worth of energy. Dung cakes are also known as uple, kande, gosse or thepdi. These are the cakes of cow dung molded by bare hands with a curvature to be able to keep stuck to the walls. Once dried they are put in a pile and covered with thatch called bitauda. Cow Dung Cake is mix of cow dung with hay, flattened out and dried for use. Cow dung cakes have been used in traditional Indian households for yagnas, ceremonies, rituals, etc. It is used to purify air as it is said to release oxygen when burnt with ghee. Dung cakes, made from the by-products of animal husbandry, are traditionally used as fuel in India for making food in a domestic hearth called a Chulha.
Flipkart Screenshot
That basically lists the places where cow dung cakes are used. Well, Made In India seems to be taking over the world.?