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layers of bulls' intestines. In other words, after slaughtering a bull, quickly his intestines are removed, and sold to the manufacturers of silver foil/ varak. The skins made of old intestines are of no use. Even one-day-old intestines cannot be used, because within a few hours they stiffen.
The silver foil/varak manufacturer removes blood and stool (if not pre-removed) from the intestines, and cuts them into pieces. Then he puts one piece over another, making a booklet out of them. At his home, or in the factory, he puts one silver (or gold) sheet in between each page of these intestines. Then he hammers it hard until those metal sheets turn into thin wafers.
The intestines of bulls are so strong, that even repeated hammering do not destroy them, nor they let the foil sheets move around inside. Because of the hammering, some tissues of the intestine mix with the foils. Afterwards, the foil manufacturer sells the bundle of foil to the sweets manufacturers. Some small foil manufacturers sell the foils to temples.
Not only is varak non-vegetarian, it is also very bad for your body - whether you are vegetarian or not. The silver cannot be digested; therefore, there are no benefits from its consumption. A study done in November 2005 by the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre in Lucknow on varak says that the silver foil available in the market has toxic and carcinogenic metals in the thin silver foil, including nickel, lead, chromium, and cadmium; all of these damage the body. Also, over half of the analyzed silver foil had lower silver purity than the 99.9 per cent purity stipulated by the prevention of food adulteration act of India. When such foil enters into the body, it releases heavy metals that can lead to cancer. The report also details the unhygienic conditions in which workers put silver in small leather bags and beat it into foil in filthy shops.
My brothers and sisters, I cannot understand this fad about its use on edible products. Not only you are eating a nonvegetarian product, but also for no reason you are putting poison in your body and are paying for it.
An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
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