Conference turris::cooks

    Ok, I'll change the subject a little bit.  Isn't that a contradiction?
    In a former life I worked in the beef/veal industry and was told that
    veal was calves which were never fed solid food, and I've never seen
    anything to contradict that.
    
    ed

re: .-1

veal that is very pale pink or white in color is, indeed, milk-fed veal -
that means the calf eats no solid food and is kept from any activity that
will increase muscle strength (toughens the meat).  It is very difficult 
to find this veal anywhere (at least here in N. California) because this is 
generally considered to be a very cruel treatment.  The term most often
used for this veal is "Provimi veal".  I avoid it in markets when it is
available (you will know it if you see it - it costs ALOT of money) and
in restaurants.  This is the worst of the "factory farm" treatment.

However, the term "veal" is used to define meat that comes from an animal
of a certain AGE - and that means that the bright pink veal that you normally
see in the markets is from younger calves than those that delivery "beef".
It is a popular myth, by the way, that the cattle that give beef are that
much older than those that give "veal".  Genetic research enables the ranchers
to bring cattle to market before they are a year old.  The veal that is a 
strong pink color is from animals that are treated just like other cattle 
as far as exercise and food are concerned...they just get butchered sooner.

Of course, individual ranchers may make their own decisions on this, but
as a consumer you can control what you buy by simply looking at the color
of the meat - if it is a strong pink color, the animal was healthy and
well fed....if it is white or very pale, the animal was anemic and poorly
fed.

    I found a source of veal.  My major objection wasn't really what the
    animals were fed, but the inhumane treatment used for much veal
    production.  The animals are kept locked in stocks so they can't move.
    They are also typically injected with lots of antibiotics and growth
    hormones for quick growth.  Grain fed veal usually implies that the
    animals a free to graze while they are alive.
    
    A friend put me in touch with Margie Auger (pronounced Margee Aujay)
    who has a farm in Newmarket, New Hampshire.  Her animals are milk fed
    but also are allowed to graze in a fenced area.  They are not injected
    with anything.  Margie will meet people in Manchester to deliver meat.
    
    I don't have her price list (I will have it tomorrow if anyone wants it
    entered) but her sliced veal for scallopini etc. is $6.50 per pound, a
    real bargain.  I will be eating scallopini tomorrow night!  Her
    telephone number is 1-942-5427.

    .3 is the kind of veal that I used to raise, sell 'em before weaning.
    There's nothing inhumane about it, but it's still not grain fed.
    
    (not inhumane in the treatment sense, anyway.)
    
    Some years later when I was in the slaughter business, we had a 6 month
    animal come in that was as .2 describes, red meat but young.  All I
    remember was that it was special and didn't go with any of the regular
    sales items.  I wouldn't doubt that the boss took the parts home
    himself.
    
    ed

    
    I have to agree with .3: at least here (Britain) you cannot call it
    veal if the animal has been weaned. You don't have to confine it in
    racks though. Once the animal has been weaned you *must* (by law) call
    the meat beef.
    
    /. Ian .\

 Julia Child talks about this in her "The Way to Cook."She says that the deep 
pink "veal" is more properly called "calf." Makes sense to me.

 The Doctah

    I agree with Ed, not all white veal is the result of inhumane
    treatment.  My brother has a herd of dairy cows on his farm in
    Maine.  The bull calves are raised for veal.  They're kept in
    warm, straw-lined box stalls, and fed milk.  (actually, the
    heifer calves are also, since it's the warmest and safest place
    for them.)  All the calves are kept in one area, in the same or
    adjoining stalls, with heat lamps etc.
    
    --Louise

    I think the pink calf meat is sometimes called baby beef.   I don't
    think there's a legal definition in most states for either calf or
    baby beef, whereas veal sometimes has a legal requirement such as
    the one Ian referenced in Britain.
    
    (As an aside, both my daughters have worked at a McD's for quite a
    while and have become vegetarians.  I thought that "interesting"
    to say the least.)
    
    ed

    According to Larouse Gastro. "the finest veal in the world" comes from
    Normandy where the calves are fed 10 raw eggs a day before they are
    slaughtered.  Also, LG claims that the meat from a calf raised on
    mother's milk is superior to that of calves raised on reconsitituted
    milk, the latter having shinier, tougher tendons.
    
    ed

Wow after 10 raw eggs a day, I guess slaughtering would be more humane than 
lettin 'em get salmonella, or die from a cholesterol OD!!

    			>RAISING MILK FED VEAL<
    
    Raising milk fed veal is a real touchy job. If raised with the mother
    on mother's milk, the animal always tries to eat the hay or straw or
    bedding in the area. It wants to eat solids even if that includes
    excrement. That is why they are kept in pens. So that they only get
    milk - reconstituted or mother's. This is also why it is so expensive.
    The animals tend to get sick very easily.
    
                        

    	This hasn't been updated for a while, and I'm wondering where the
    best place in the Nashua area is to buy good quality veal. Suggestions?