Animals as Food

VEAL

Veal calves are taken from their mothers and placed in crates. They are fed an iron deficient diet, being made anemic in order to preserve their light pink flesh for gourmet tastes. Light pink flesh is anemic flesh. Because desperate calves will attempt to lick their own urine and feces to satisfy their craving for iron, they are chained in tiny stalls with no room to turn around or even lie down in a natural outstretched position. So desperate are they for iron, that the crates must be wooden - the calves will lick at rusty metal.

One would wish the above to be a hyperbole concocted by animal right's activists to make their point. However, the Stall Street Journal (April 1973) published by Provimi inc, the company that introduced this method of veal production to the United States stated: "The main reason for using hardwood instead of metal box-stalls is that metal may affect the light veal color....Keep all iron out of reach of your calves."

When veal calves are slaughtered at 16 weeks they are often too sick to walk. One out of every ten veal calves dies in confinement.