Now that just figures that veal would be your favorite meal!
Factsheets: Veal: A Cruel Meal
The veal calf industry is one of the most reprehensible of all
the kinds of intensive animal agriculture. Veal calves are a
by-product of the dairy industry; they are "manufactured" by
"milk machines"--dairy cows. Female calves are raised to be
dairy cows: They are confined and fed synthetic hormones to
increase growth and production and antibiotics to keep them
alive in their unhealthy, unnatural environments. They are
artificially inseminated and, after giving birth, are milked for
several years until their production levels drop, then they are
slaughtered.
Male calves are taken from their mothers shortly after birth.
Some are slaughtered soon after birth for "bob veal." Others
are raised in "open pens," a kind of minimum security prison,
and even then they are sometimes chained. Most are destined
for the veal crate.
Solitary Confinement
The veal crate is a wooden restraining device that is the veal
calf's permanent home. It is so small (22" x 54") that the
calves cannot turn around or even lie down and stretch and is
the ultimate in high-profit, confinement animal agriculture.(1)
Designed to prevent movement (exercise), the crate does its
job of atrophying the calves' muscles, thus producing tender
"gourmet" veal.
"Feeding" Time
The calves are generally fed a milk substitute intentionally
lacking in iron and other essential nutrients. This diet keeps the
animals anemic and creates the pale pink or white color desired
in the finished product. Craving iron, the calves lick
urine-saturated slats and any metallic parts of their stalls.
Farmers also withhold water from the animals, who, always
thirsty, are driven to drink a large quantity of the high-fat
liquid feed.
Because of such extremely unhealthy living conditions and
restricted diets, calves are susceptible to a long list of
diseases, including chronic pneumonia and "scours," or
constant diarrhea. Consequently, they must be given massive
doses of antibiotics and other drugs just to keep them alive.
(The antibiotics are passed on to consumers in the meat.) The
calves often suffer from wounds caused by the constant
rubbing against the crates.
A Fate Worse Than Death
About 14 weeks after their birth, the calves are slaughtered.
The quality of this "food," laden with chemicals, lacking in fiber
and other nutrients, diseased and processed, is another
matter. The real issue is the calves' experience. During their
brief lives, they never see the sun or touch the Earth. They
never see or taste the grass. Their anemic bodies crave proper
sustenance. Their muscles ache for freedom and exercise.
They long for maternal care. They are kept in darkness except
to be fed two to three times a day for 20 minutes. The calves
have committed no crime, yet have been sentenced to a fate
comparable to any Nazi concentration camp.
What You Can Do
To help stop veal calf abuses, don't buy or eat veal, and tell
friends, relatives, and neighbors why. Tell restaurant managers
about veal cruelties and ask them to remove veal from their
menus. Also, don't buy or eat dairy products, because of the
dairy industry's role in veal production. Ask your state
legislators to sponsor bills that would prohibit the use of veal
crates.
References
1.Singer, Peter, Animal Liberation, 1975, p. 123.
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