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I don't get what the beef is with veal. (hehe! Yes, I see what I did there.) I mean, veal is technically young beef. And if cows are raised on a factory farm, wouldn't veal be slightly more humane, considering how veal spends less time living in bad conditions than beef does? And gets fed better too, I'm sure.
With that said, veal is not common in Americanized Italian restaurants, whether basic or upscale. But I do see it pretty regularly in authentic Italian restaurants. Not so much in the form of parmigiana (where the meat flavor is drowned out by other components), but more often meatballs, ravioli, and stews. Presumably, in the old country, with limited grazing land and expensive feed, it was more cost-effective to not let a cow grow to adulthood. Which made veal popular.
Last edited by MillennialUrbanist; 02-11-2019 at 09:24 PM..
Years ago after reading how the expensive pale looking veal came to be like that I never touched it again.
I read that in the 1970s and never ate it again -- except for that one bite in Germany in the 1980s. I felt sort of guilty about that, but I hadn't ordered it.
To me, veal isn't something that you'd want to put tomato sauce and cheese on.
I don't get what the beef is with veal. (hehe! Yes, I see what I did there.) I mean, veal is technically young beef. And if cows are raised on a factory farm, wouldn't veal be slightly more humane, considering how veal spends less time living in bad conditions than beef does? (And it tastes pretty good too.)
With that said, veal is not common in Americanized Italian restaurants, whether basic or upscale. But I do see it pretty regularly in authentic Italian restaurants. Not so much in the form of parmigiana, but more often meatballs, ravioli, and stews. Presumably, in the old country, with limited grazing land and expensive feed, it was more cost-effective to not let a cow grow to adulthood. Which made veal popular.
Virtually all veal raised in the USA are male calves of dairy cows. Since the cows must be bred regularly to keep up milk production almost all the male offspring are sent to veal production with a small number kept for breeding purposes. They are not genetically disposed to produce large amounts of high quality beef like an angus would be, for instance but make good veal. The females remain in the dairy industry.
I saw a documentary a long time ago on how veal was created, and even though I’m not vegetarian, I was never able to eat veal again.
Most factory-farmed animals are raised in inhumane conditions, no doubt. But how is veal cruelty worse than beef cruelty? It's the same animal, similarly raised. If it's because the animal is younger, it actually spends less time living in those conditions.
I also read the New York Times article that you linked. Did you actually read that article? If so, I'm assuming you must have missed this part:
"A few other small veal farms use this method, also called pasture-raised, but Strauss is the only major player. It produces about 5 percent of its veal this way."
So, 5% is produced humanely while 95% is still produced inhumanely.
I'll pass. Thanks.
So you'll pass on supporting the 5% who are in order to punish the 95% who aren't? Great policy!
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Originally Posted by MillennialUrbanist
Most factory-farmed animals are raised in inhumane conditions, no doubt. But how is veal cruelty worse than beef cruelty? It's the same animal, similarly raised. If it's because the animal is younger, it actually spends less time living in those conditions.
Agreed - however the cages were fairly cruel which is why they were banned in many countries.
Home reared veal such as Rose Veal is now the more popular and ethical option for those that want to eat veal, it's white veal that is seen as unethical and cruel.
"White veal" is basically a marketing term used to identify the meat from milk-fed, very young calves. Because the calf is very young, it has not had the opportunity to exercise its muscles. Its milk diet is low in iron, too, which affects the production of hemoglobin and myoglobin, the pigment that makes meat red.
Calf's liver and bacon is another traditional dish, indeed there has been an increase in calf's liver over recent decades, although they are now Rose Veal rather than White Veal.
In the end, it's up to your own personal choice in relation as to what you wish to eat, however animal welfare standards are important, just as hygiene standards are.
An aside. This is a fairly charged issue to discuss and once again I've got to say it's one of the things I like about hanging out with people who craft with fabric, people who grow plants and people who love to cook and eat.
It's something I noticed quite a while ago - in general these groups of people are able to have live-and-let-live conversations without a lot of judging. (I'm going to say something sappy now.) I suspect that the reason is that we are lovers.
An aside. This is a fairly charged issue to discuss and once again I've got to say it's one of the things I like about hanging out with people who craft with fabric, people who grow plants and people who love to cook and eat.
It's something I noticed quite a while ago - in general these groups of people are able to have live-and-let-live conversations without a lot of judging. (I'm going to say something sappy now.) I suspect that the reason is that we are lovers.
The food forum - a good place to be.
Interesting, Lodestar. Can't say I'm crafty, but I adore horticulture and eating and cooking food. Yes, lovers of the right things in the world. Can we add nature/animal lovers??
As far as veal parm, I don't eat veal but chicken and eggplant parm will never be off my entree list...
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Yes, I see what I did there.) I mean, veal is technically young beef. And if cows are raised on a factory farm, wouldn't veal be slightly more humane, considering how veal spends less time living in bad conditions than beef does? And gets fed better too, I'm sure.
It's the same animal, similarly raised. If it's because the animal is younger, it actually spends less time living in those conditions.
