varakh on sweets (mithai)

Do you know whether the varakh (silver
foil) used in many Jain temples on the
idols and in some religious ceremonies is
vegetarian?
Do you know how the varakh on your
sweets (mithai) is manufactured? As a
child I remember always asking for those
sweets that had silver foil on them. Even
today children as well as adults go for
varakh on the sweets. Its popular appeal
has a stronger hold on people's mind,
increasing the demand and there by it's
supply. If people know the source and
method of making it, I am sure they will
never eat the silver-coated sweets again.
Let us find out the procedure from the
article written by Beauty Without Cruelty
(BWC), India branch. We are thankful to
them for this valuable information.
If you look beyond the glitter of varakh,
into the sheds where it is produced, and
at the lives that are sacrificed to make
this possible, you would think twice
before buying that box of sweets topped
with the precious silver foil!
Silver foil, or varakh, as it is generally
known in India, adds glitter to Indian
sweets (mithai), supari (betel nut), paan
(betel-leaf), and fruits. Also it is used in
Ayurvedic medicines and on deities in
many Jain temples. The silver-topped
sweet is even served as prasad in temples
and on auspicious and religious
occasions. Varakh is also used in flavored
syrups as in kesar (saffron) syrup.
Several years ago, as suggested by BWC,
Indian Airlines instructed their caterers
to stop the use of varakh on sweets
(mithai) served on board their flights.
Today, many ask for sweets without
varakh, having realized the cruelty
involved in its preparation.
According to a feature article in Business
India, an astounding 275 tons of silver
are eaten annually into foil for sweets
and chyavanprash! That is a whopping
2,75,000 kilograms! (At the present
market rate that would cost a
phenomenal Rs. 165 Crore or $ 40 million
U.S. Dollars).
Just how is varakh made and what is it
that makes its preparation and
consumption so sinful?
Varakh is not derived from an animal
source. However, a crucial material of
animal origin, ox-gut, is used in its
manufacture. This ox-gut is obtained
from the slaughterhouse.
In the by lanes of the villages of
Ahmedabad (Gujarat state, India) and
other cities, amidst filthy surroundings,
placed between layers of ox-gut, small
thin strips of silver are hammered to
produce the glittering foil.
The intestine (ox-gut), smeared with
blood and mucus, is pulled out from the
slaughtered animal by the butcher at the
slaughterhouse, and sold for the specific
purpose. Note that it is not a by-product
of slaughter, but like everything else
meat, hide, and bones are sold by weight.
This is then taken away to be cleaned and
used in the manufacture of varakh.
The gut of an average cow, measuring
540 inches in length and 3 inches in
diameter, is cut open into a piece
measuring 540" x 10". From this, strips of
9" x 10" are cut to give approximately 60
pieces of ox-gut, which are then piled one
onto another and bound to form a book
of 171 leaves.
Next, small thin strips of silver are placed
between the sheets and the book slipped
into a leather pouch (note that the use of
leather-an animal product again).
Artisans then hammer these bundles
continuously for a day to produce
extremely thin foils of silver of 3" x 5".
The leather and ox-gut, being supple, can
withstand the intense manual hammering
for up to 8 hours a day till such time as
the silver is beaten to the desired
thickness. When ready, the foil is
carefully lifted from between the leaves
of ox-gut and placed between sheets of
paper to be sold to the sweet makers
(mithaiwallas). A booklet of 160 foils
weighs approximately 10 grams and costs
about Rs. 200 ($5.00).
To make a single booklet of 171 sheets,
the guts of 3 cows are used. And the yield
per book is generally 160 foils of silver,
the rest of which may be damaged or
unfit for use. Thus one book, used on an
average of 300 days of the year yields
approximately 48,000 foils of silver which
means that each ox-gut yields an
estimated 16,000 foils.
The leather used for the pouch to hold
the book (made from ox-gut), is cowhide
or calf leather, and uses about 232 sq.
inches of material. Assuming the size of
an average cowhide to be 18 sq. ft or
2,600 sq. Inches, the yield per hide will
be approximately 10 leather pouches.
Usually 4 foils are used per kilograms
(2.2 lbs.) of sweets and the ox-gut of one
cow is used to produce foil for
approximately 4,000 kilograms (9,000
lbs.) of sweets. It is estimated (by
Surveys) that the average consumption of
sweets by a middle class family of four in
India is about 100 kilograms per year.
Thus, an average middle class Indian
family of four consuming approximately
100 kg of sweets per year for forty years
consumes silver foil produced with the
gut of 3 cows and one-tenth of a cowhide!
India is not the only country where foil is
made by such methods. In Germany,
small-specialized enterprises produce gold
leaf, which is beaten down to 1/10,000-
millimeter thickness, for decorative and
technical purposes by similar methods.
The Jews use the gold foil for as much the
same purposes, namely for food
preparations, as it is in India.
In India the 275 tons of silver that are
beaten annually into varakh utilize
intestines of 516,000 cows and calf leather
of 17,200 animals each year.
Therefore, we hope that someone;
somewhere will develop an alternative
process for the making of varakh without
using ox-gut.

Reference ;
Pramoda Chitrabhanu
Jain Meditation International Center,   New York