What?Ask many a person and they will tell you it just isn’t possible.Like many of the great masses, I, too, once refused the joy of veal.I climbed my poorly constructed, yet, righteous high-horse and proclaimed, “No veal shall cross my lips!”
One day, oh, so many years ago, I proclaimed my veal-freeness to a post-hippie acquaintance who then said to me, in the triumphant tone a man who is sure that he has cornered a soon-to-be vegetarian, “If you won’t eat veal, then you shouldn’t eat chicken.Have you ever seen how we treat those birds?”
And it struck me – he was right.To not eat an expensive and rarely consumed food because of how it is treated while in it’s short life, but to eat several times a week it’s tasty and cheap cousin, equally poorly treated is hypocritical in biblical proportions.Giving up veal is easy, because we hardly ever eat it – it’s like giving up lemon-grass or star anise.But, we would never consider giving up chicken, even though factory raised chickens have short, terrible and confined lives.Colonel Sanders, what would we do without you?
So, I turned everything upside-down and started to eat veal, guilt free again.And I did so, for many happy years.Now, that I consider myself a more informed and humane eater, I am forced to fight the veal battle again.Much like I need to address where my milk and eggs come from – neither of which make me very comfortable (“Thanks, Singer and Mason!”)
Fortunately, thanks to Serious Eats, the veal issue has become a lot easier.Azuluna Brands, just down the road in Eastern Massachusetts (local!) is raising veal in a traditional and humane manner.The veal live their, admittedly short, lives eating what God intended them to eat from where He had always planned and where they should be living – literally, mother’s milk, living outdoors.
Veal can now not only be back on the menu, but with a clear conscience.
Before the 1960s, milk-fed veal was raised primarily by the dairy farmer as a method of gaining some economic advantage from the many bull calves born each year that were not required for breeding. It was not long until the farmer found that raising this young animal and meeting the specific needs of the calf proved challenging in the midst of the mature cattle members of his herd.
Early producers found that a separate micro-climate was the only means of raising a calf through the perils of early growth. The growing stall was thus born. In the beginning these separated growing areas were almost totally enclosed. This was thought to curtail the spread of disease and provide a clean and comfortable environment in which the calf could flourish. Mortality was reduced substantially and produced a high-class product. As time and management philosophy developed the stall was changed. It became larger and more open. The stall also provided an opportunity for individual handling of the calf, which has been an important contribution to learn and understand the veal calf and its requirements. However, many animal welfare activists oppose the use of these crates. Veal crates were banned in the UK (under the 1987 "Welfare of Calves Regulations" act which came into effect in 1990) and throughout the European Union in 2007.
There have been some controversy in veal-raising methods over the years, including housing, use of antibiotics and hormones. In Europe, these issues have all been addressed. In North America, there has been a general lag in these areas but there are no use of hormones now and use of antibiotics follows withdrawal guidelines. This is actively monitored by government agencies. The housing issue is being addressed. [6].The AVA ( American Veal Association) announced in 2007 the phasing out of "crates". The tethering of calves in the USA was mostly due to economics as the cost of housing is reduced. This made veal raising viable for a family farming operation.
In North America, there has been a recent move to more group housing, although it has been used since 1981 in various forms.[7]
[edit] Housing
In North America, there are primarily three different types of housing used for veal calves: hutches, stalls, or various types of group housing. [8]
Calf hutchCalves are kept in isolation from other calves when they are young and vulnerable to infectious disease.
Hutches provide shelter from extremes in temperature and wind, and are usually bedded with fresh straw.
Water is available at all times and the calves are fed two or three times a day with a milk replacer and sometimes free choice grain mix.
Calves would normally be moved to a group setting in a few weeks when they are stronger and less likely to be vulnerable to disease.
Feed intake can be monitored and adjusted on an individual basis.
The amount of feed consumed provides an indication of the health of the calf as reduced intake is often one of the first signs of sickness.
Individual attention can be paid to each calf and the stall itself provides protection for weaker calves against bullying.
The feeding area is not able to be contaminated by other calves.
Milk fed Veal - Group housing in NYFeed intake can be monitored and controlled by use of an electronic tag.
Calves can move around freely and socialize.
Calves can choose rest areas where they feel most comfortable.
Feeding
Milk-fed veal calves consume a diet consisting of a milk replacer, formulated using all of mostly milk based proteins with added vitamins and minerals to provide a balanced nutritonal solutuion. Calves would have access to water and often to some roughage such as coarse grains.
Grain-fed calves would normally consume a diet of milk replacer for the first 6-8 weeks. They would also have access to water and roughage such as hay during this time. The calves would then move on to a corn-based grain feed.
The above comment is obviously a "cut and paste" from somewhere (notice the references that go nowhere). Yes, that is, I believe, how the majority of veal is raised in the US. Azuluna, on the other hand, uses no milk replacement and the calves roam outside with their mothers. So, I'm not exactly sure where the comment is going, but I appreciate the detailed comparison from factory veal to Azuluna veal, it's very enlightening.
