I used to love veal and we had it all the time
UNTIL I found out more about it.
I have found that recently that it is harder to find different cuts of meat in my grocery store - it seems like prepacked foods are taking over!
From
Veal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Veal production: the controversy Veal is essentially a by-product of dairy farming.
Dairy cows must regularly produce
calves in order to continue to
produce milk. The result is that more female calves are born than can be raised into dairy cows; bull calves have no commercial use except as veal.
Veal Production
While all veal production is contentious, the humane movement is most concerned with formula-fed calves. These are traditionally raised in crates that restrict physical movement in order to minimize the growth of tough muscle fiber and to keep the flesh white and tender. The finest veal meat comes from unweaned calves. Formula-fed veal farming is universally condemned by
animal rights activists and others concerned with animal welfare. It is frequently cited as one of the worst examples of large-scale industrial animal farming and is banned in the
United Kingdom. Nevertheless, the UK still attracts criticism from animal rights groups on the ground that it exports a large number of young veal cows to
the Netherlands, where farming law is more relaxed and where most European veal production is centred.
The remaining members of the
European Union — including
Italy, where veal is extremely popular — will ban the use of veal crates and anæmia-inducing diets from
2007[2].
On
November 7,
2006,
Arizona voters approved
Proposition 204, the
Humane Treatment of Farm Animals Act, making that state the first in the U.S. to prohibit the use of veal crates. Several other states are considering similar legislation.
The health risk to consumers posed by drugs administered to farm animals is not unique to the veal industry but this has attracted particular attention. Critics allege that producers compensate for unhealthy living conditions by administering tranquilising medication and high levels of antibiotics. However, while illegal administration of antibiotics (particularly
neomycin) is on the rise[
citation needed], administration of tranquilising medication is neither widespread nor documented in any credible scientific literature. Recent studies indicate that health threats caused by consumption of antibiotics in veal pose only a small risk to humans.
[3][4]
Advocates for the veal industry counter that modern farms provide clean, well-lit and well-ventilated environments with enough room for calves to "stand, stretch, groom themselves and lay down in a natural position."
[5]. Industry advocates also assert that, as veal calves are typically at risk of becoming
anæmic — resulting in weakness and loss of appetite — modern farmers feed calves a diet with sufficent, carefully controlled amounts of iron.
