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Haryana education dept magazine says beef source of iron

CHANDIGARH: A day after TOI reported that the Haryana education department's magazine carried a positive article on the benefits of beef, the Haryana government sacked the editor of the magazine.Devyani Singh, the editor of the publication, Shiksha Sarthi , was fired on Thursday for publishing a story that said that beef is one of the best dietary sources of iron.The state government, which has banned beef in all its forms, got rid of the editor despite being told by experts that there is enough evidence to show that both the author and the editor had only stated a scientific fact.“Such an article should not have been published in a Haryana magazine. The editor of the magazine has given a justification that the article was based on scientific research and recommendations. We have relieved the editor from the post and further action would be taken in this concern,” said State education minister Ram Bilas Sharma, who is also a patron of the periodical. ​He said the cow has the ‘status of mother in India’ and Haryana has a stringent law against cow slaughter and related offences.Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who is the magazine’s chief patron, had earlier said in an interview that Muslims would have to give up beef if they wanted to live in India. Haryana is the first state to pass a law mandating a 10-year jail term for cow slaughter.Both BJP and Congress differ with Khattar on beefExperts and dieticians supported the article, ‘Iron: Vital for strength’, saying it has merely stated irrefutable scientific facts. They said even the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and other such bodies recommend beef as a source of iron.“If we keep religious issues apart, there is nothing illegal to suggest that beef is a source of iron,” said Sunita Malhotra, a dietician at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, said.Madhu Sharma, an eminent dietician who has also worked at PGIMER, said that while it's an undisputed fact that beef is a source of iron, there are other good sources of iron as well.Aarti Bajaj, a senior dietician from Panchkula, said research carried out internationally and at ICMR has proven that beef is a very good source of iron and protein. She, however, added that animal meat is high on saturated fats.Read this story in Marathi