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India to Sell Cow Pee Soda

Nationalists push drink as Coke, Pepsi rival

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Feb 12, 2009 11:56 AM CST

(Newser) – India's largest Hindu nationalist group is taking on Coke and Pepsi with a native brew that's a little, uh, earthier: a soft drink made from cow urine. "Don't worry, it won't smell like urine and will be tasty, too," its maker assures the Times. The so-called cow water—which mixes medicinal herbs with the waste product—is undergoing lab tests and may be launched by year's end.

The soda is the movement's latest attempt to promote the revered animal—and fight foreign influence in an increasingly globalized India. "We're going to give them good competition as our drink is good for mankind," the maker said of American colas. "We may also think of exporting it." The group also promotes cow urine as a cure-all for obesity, liver disease, and even cancer.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

Woman pile cow dung cakes, used as a fuel for cooking food in rural areas, on the outskirts of Allahabad, India. Cow waste is used in India for functional, medicinal, and spiritual purposes. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

A farmer carries paddy, as a cow grazes in a field in India. A nationalist group plans to sell carbonated cow urine as a rival to Coke and Pepsi. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

A decorated cow waits backstage before taking part in the Cow Fashion Show in Bangalore, India. Cows are revered in Hindu faith and a symbol for the nationalist movement. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

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We're going to give them good competition as our drink is good for mankind. We may also think of exporting it. - Om Prakash, head of the RSS
Cow Protection Department

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India to Sell Cow Pee Soda