If you watched Countryfile this weekend you’ll have seen an extremely emotive topic: What happens to the thousands of young bull calves which are the by-product of the dairy industry? If you missed it you can watch it again here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01bf4qy/Countryfile_22_01_2012/
The simple fact is that dairy cows have to give birth to provide milk - which leads to about half a million male dairy calves every year.
Male dairy calves normally face three futures: Being shot on farm soon after being born, being transported hundreds of miles across Europe and reared for veal in conditions which could be illegal here, or being raised on British farms for beef or veal where minimum legal standards are better.
The RSPCA believes the third option is the best for the welfare of calves but veal is still an unpalatable choice for some people.
It’s not an issue that vegetarians (like myself) have the luxury of avoiding either, in fact I’ve been told three times recently that veal is the one meat a vegetarian who drinks milk should eat.
A quick straw poll of the Peerless family discovered neither my in-laws or my husband had ever eaten veal and are put off because they think it is ‘cruel’, is a ‘baby animal’ and is ‘expensive’.
In fact welfare laws in Britain are higher than EU legislation meaning calves must have a comfortable straw bed and roughage to allow their digestive system to develop properly so they are full of vigour and can charge around with their pals.
Another surprising fact is that veal calves can weigh-in at hefty 300 kilos, a far cry from the cute, big-eyed, wobbly legged animals you instantly picture in your mind, and they live to between six and eight months – far older than chicken, pork and lamb and about half the age of British beef.
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| Fourth generation farmer David Tory |
And as for it being expensive Freedom Food veal farmer David Tory and his business partner Ben Bayer are supplying lower cost cuts of veal such as shin and also veal stir fry packs which they say are a comparable price to chicken and low in fat. They’re hoping they will become a staple part of the weekly shop.
I don’t think I could ever eat veal, or any other meat, however I have switched to soya milk and I will be putting Freedom Food veal in my shopping basket from now on.
Catherine Peerless, farm animal press officer
