The ‘Cultured’ Cow: Analyzing the Role of the Cow’s Acclaimed Holiness in Indians’ Dairy Consumption Intentions
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Overall Evaluation
This manuscript, “The ‘Cultured’ Cow: Analyzing the Role of the Cow’s Acclaimed Holiness in Indians’ Dairy Consumption Intentions,” provides a timely analysis of socio-cultural and religious factors affecting dairy consumption in India, using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The study’s explicit integration of cow-related religious beliefs as a moderating construct and its non-Western application of TPB are notable strengths. The large sample size (n = 559), use of structural equation modeling, and consideration of cultural, political, and welfare perspectives further enhance its contribution. There are, however, a number of conceptual, methodological, and interpretative concerns that need to be dealt with in order to make the article more rigorous, balanced, and clear.
Major Comments
Assessing Religious Beliefs (Single-Item Construct)
The construct “religious beliefs regarding cows” is assessed with a singular item (“Do you consider the cow sacred?”). Because this variable is such an important part of the theory, using just one item is a big problem. Religious belief encompasses multiple dimensions, including the intensity of belief, ceremonial observance, identity, and behavioral consequences.
The authors need to explain further - why a single-item measure is enough???
Future revisions should address the use of multi-item validated scales in the Methods and Limitations sections, or clearly state the limitations in construct validity.
Possible Sampling Bias and Representativeness
The use of snowball sampling and the predominance of young, highly educated respondents (mainly under 35, many with postgraduate degrees) may limit generalizability to the broader Indian population, especially rural, older, and less-educated groups who are important stakeholders in dairy consumption and production.
The authors should assess how demographic bias may influence the results, particularly regarding subjective norms and religious beliefs. A more explicit acknowledgment of urban and educated bias, along with its implications, would strengthen the manuscript.
Sensitive and Political Content
The manuscript contains an in-depth examination of conflicts rooted in religion, caste, and politics. Some parts of these are relevant, while others (such incidents of violence and political misuse of cow symbolism) may seem long and not directly related to the main behavioral model. The authors should consider shortening these sections and more clearly linking them to the TPB framework and dairy consumption behaviors.
Causal Interpretation versus Cross-Sectional Design
I feel the paper occasionally implies causal relationships (e.g., religious views "regulate" or "shape" consumption) despite relying on cross-sectional, self-reported data. The authors should consistently use cautious terminology (such as “associated with,” “linked to,” or “may influence”) and avoid definitive causal claims.
This is particularly important in the Discussion sections
The "Mother-Milk Paradox" is an intriguing and innovative intellectual contribution, but it remains largely interpretative and is not directly tested within the model. The authors should clarify that this is a conceptual framework informed by results and research, rather than a construct empirically tested.
A few minor comments
Explain the difference between buffalo and cow dairy products. The paper talks about buffalo milk, yet the survey is all about cow milk and products. Buffalo milk makes up a large part of the dairy consumed in India, hence this difference should be made clearer when looking at the results.
English language/grammar
Some sections would benefit from more concise and neutral language. Shortening lengthy sentences will improve readability.
Figures & Ideas for Models
Figures 3–5 are conceptually useful, but longer captions would help readers understand them independently.
Validation of Psychometrics
The authors note that comprehensive psychometric validation was not performed due to time constraints. This limitation should be stated more clearly, as it impacts construct validity.
Variables for Control
The role of age, gender, and education as control variables is briefly discussed. A quick table or summary of whether these had any significant effects would make things clearer.
My Suggestion: Major Revisiion
Comments on the Quality of English Language
The manuscript is generally well written; however, the authors may benefit from professional language editing to further improve clarity, grammar, and conciseness in some sections.
Author Response
Thank you for reviewing my work. I appreciate the time and efforts put in. Please see the attachment for my detailed response to your comments.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Work entitled "The 'Cultured' Cow: Analyzing the Role of the Cow's Acclaimed Holiness in Indians' Dairy Consumption Intentions" is an original scientific article. The topic is interesting and timely. The role of this culturally shaped human-animal dynamic in the routine consumption of dairy products by Indians remains largely unknown. The authors presented the problem well, supporting it with 184 references (far too many). The study was well designed and conducted. The study was conducted on a sufficient number of respondents. The obtained results were well analyzed statistically.
Comments
I suggest limiting the number of citations to those most recent and most important to the research (maximum 50 citations). This is not a review paper.
Line 331 indicates gender (63.4% female, 331 36.01% male, 0.59% other). Please explain what "other" means.
I believe that after taking the comments into account, the manuscript can be published in the journal Animals.
Author Response
Thank you for reviewing my work. I appreciate the time and efforts put in. Please see the attachment for my detailed response to your comments.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The reviewed article addresses the important and previously underexplored issue of the role of religious and cultural determinants in shaping dairy consumption intentions in India, using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as an analytical framework. At the conceptual level, the work distinguishes itself by attempting to combine the classical model of social psychology with an analysis of human-animal relationships, embedded in a specific cultural context. In this sense, the article makes a noticeable contribution to the interdisciplinary literature in consumer behavior research, anthropozoology, and animal welfare studies, particularly with respect to non-European and non-Western regions, which are still underrepresented in empirical research.
The structure of the work is logical and generally sound. The authors consistently guide the reader from a broad theoretical and cultural background, through clearly formulated research objectives, hypotheses, and research questions, to a description of the methods, results, and in-depth discussion. Of particular note is the extensive and carefully crafted introduction, which not only justifies the chosen topic but also critically addresses the dominant religious and social narratives surrounding the cow in India. However, at times, the theoretical section, especially the sections describing the political and social context and the conflicts surrounding the cow's symbolism, becomes excessively elaborate at the expense of conciseness and clarity of the scientific argument. In several places, the narrative takes on a journalistic character, which may weaken the sense of analytical distance expected in an empirical article.
Methodologically, the study was designed appropriately and utilized recognized analytical tools. The application of the theory of planned behavior is appropriate to the problem at hand, and the choice of structural equation modeling (SEM) allows for simultaneous testing of direct relationships and moderating effects. The authors correctly report model fit indices, which fall within acceptable limits, indicating correct model specification. Reliability analysis of the multi-item scales was also conducted reliably, and Cronbach's alpha coefficients indicate satisfactory internal consistency of the constructs. At the same time, it is important to point out significant methodological limitations that affect the strength of the conclusions. The most serious of these is the use of a "snowball" sampling method, which significantly limits the generalizability of the results to the Indian population as a whole. The sample is clearly overrepresented by young, highly educated individuals, and women, which may systematically distort the observed relationships. Although the authors openly acknowledge this limitation, its potential implications for the interpretation of the results could be further discussed in the discussion. Furthermore, measuring the key moderator—religious beliefs regarding the sanctity of the cow—using a single question raises psychometric concerns. Such a complex cultural and religious construct is difficult to fully capture with a single observable variable, which may weaken the validity of conclusions regarding the moderation effect.
The article is generally scientifically sound and does not appear to be misleading, as long as the results are interpreted within the stated limitations. The authors maintain consistency between the empirical data and the conclusions drawn, and the statistical effects are reported transparently. However, some reservations may arise about the sometimes overly sweeping shift from the results regarding consumption intentions to broad theses about actual consumption practices and the systemic impact of religion on cow welfare. While these interpretations are theoretically interesting, they partially exceed the immediate scope of empirical data and should be more clearly labeled as hypotheses requiring further verification.
The work's extensive and largely adequate grounding in the literature also deserves a positive assessment. The authors draw on both classic works in the field of TPB and studies on animal food consumption, religion, culture, and animal welfare. The literature is largely current and covers a wide range of disciplines. However, a drawback is the relatively limited use of empirical qualitative or ethnographic studies on India, which could have strengthened the cultural interpretation and balanced the dominance of quantitative and theoretical sources.
In summary, the reviewed work makes a valuable and original contribution to research on the cultural determinants of animal product consumption and on human-animal relationships in a religious context. Its strengths include a clearly defined research problem, a solid theoretical framework, and sound statistical analysis. Major weaknesses include limitations of the study sample, simplified measurement of religious beliefs, and the sometimes overly journalistic tone of the discussion. Despite these reservations, the article can be considered a reliable and inspiring study that opens important directions for further research and has the potential to spark discussion both in the scientific community and in the debate on the ethical aspects of milk production in a cultural context.
Author Response
Thank you for reviewing my work. I appreciate the time and efforts put in. Please see the attachment for my detailed response to your comments.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
This manuscript addresses a timely and socially significant topic and employs established theoretical frameworks (TPB and religious belief moderation). However, in its current form, the paper falls short of the standards expected for publication in an international peer-reviewed journal. Substantial revisions are required before the contribution can be adequately assessed.
Section 2.1. TPB in predicting mild consumption
While the authors demonstrate familiarity with the theory of planned behavior, its current form reads largely as a contextualized literature summary rather than a theoretically sharp hypothesis development section. The authors could strengthen this section by (1) more clearly articulating what is not yet known about TPB and dairy consumption in the Indian context, (2) tightening the contextual arguments to explain how and why they matter theoretically, and/or (3) refining the hypotheses to move beyond standard TPB replication (e.g., by introducing contextual moderators, comparative claims, or theoretically motivated extensions of the model).
Another work worths of considering: Johnson, K. A., White, A. E., Boyd, B. M., & Cohen, A. B. (2011). Matzah, meat, milk, and mana: Psychological influences on religio-cultural food practices. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(8), 1421-1436.
Section 2.2. Large portions of the section provide a detailed socio-political and historical account of cow sanctity, caste conflict, religious violence, and state regulation. While these discussions are informative, they are only loosely connected to the study’s central objective—namely, explaining how religious beliefs moderate the relationships between TPB constructs and milk consumption intentions. The moderation logic itself is insufficiently theorized. The research questions (RQ1–RQ3) ask whether religious beliefs moderate TPB relationships, but the preceding discussion does not clearly explain how or why moderation is expected to occur. For instance, it remains unclear whether strong cow-related religious beliefs are hypothesized to amplify, suppress, or condition the effects of attitudes, subjective norms, or perceived behavioral control—and through what psychological mechanisms.
Line 288. Why did a survey of 12 questions need 13 minutes to complete?
Line 299-303 So the researchers did not design a questionnaire based on their study but adapted a TPB scale from previous studies==> Again, this shows the need to contextualize the theory within Indian milk consumption.
4. Results
The moderation analysis is underdeveloped and underreported. It remains unclear how the moderating effects of religious beliefs were tested within the SEM framework (e.g., interaction terms, multi-group analysis, mean-centering procedures). The Results section reports a single significant moderation effect (RQ2) without sufficient explanation of its magnitude, direction, or practical interpretation, and without visual or tabular support beyond a schematic figure.
Author Response
Thank you for reviewing my work. I appreciate the time and efforts put in. Please see the attachment for my detailed response to your comments.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The MS is ready for publication ...
Author Response
Dear reviewer,
Thank you for your input. I have now addressed the suggestion by getting the manuscript reviewed and edited for language and form by two distinct professional proofreaders.
