As Long as There are "Veal Calves," There Is No Such Thing as "Humane Treatment"

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news%2Fconsumer&id=7643064

New video alleges animal cruelty at veal farm
Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Carlos Granda

LOS ANGELES (KABC) --

The video, shot by animal protection organization Mercy for Animals, shows young calves kept chained by the neck and confined in small containers known as veal crates.

The group said the video was recorded at Buckeye Veal farm in Ohio. They said the company supplies veal to Costco sold in California.

"This is absolutely heartbreaking," said TV personality Bob Barker, a well-known animal rights activist. "For 18 weeks, they live in those miserable stalls in which they can't turn around, can't lie down, can't do anything."

But the Buckeye Veal said the video isn't an accurate depiction.

"This sensationalized video is deceptive to viewers because it includes shots from multiple farms and dairies not affiliated with Buckeye Veal in any way," the company said in a statement. "Careful review of this video does not show any mistreatment of animals at Buckeye Veal."

But Mercy for Animals disputes that.

"All of the veal farm footage that you see in this video is from Buckeye Veal," said Nathan Runkle of the organization at a press conference. "If they view animals chained in crates where they can't even turn around as acceptable, that should be a wake-up call to consumers of what this industry finds acceptable."

Last year, Costco stopped selling foie gras, the liver of a duck or goose fattened by force feeding, at its stores partly because of objections by anti-cruelty groups and partly because it wasn't selling well.

Costco officials said they're going to review the issue as well.

"It is disturbing," they said in a statement. "If they had come to us earlier, we could have looked at it and taken action immediately. We deal with many companies and there are thousands of farms and suppliers. We don't inspect them all, but we will initiate a policy so that something like this doesn't happen again."

"We want customers to boycott the veal industry and we want Costco to immediately remove veal from their store shelves," Runkle said.

In an exclusive Eyewitness News poll conducted by SurveyUSA, participants polled said they don't eat veal because:

* They don't eat meat (8 percent).
* They don't like the taste (30 percent).
* It is too expensive (19 percent).
* Of the way it is raised (20 percent).

The rest, 24 percent, said other reasons or were unsure.

September 01, 2010
Exposing the Veal and Dairy Industries

by Gene Baur (Farm Sanctuary)

For citizens concerned about farm animals, the cruel exploitation of calves raised for veal has always been an issue of great concern. The calves are taken from their mothers at birth, and chained by their necks in 2-foot-wide wooden enclosures that prevent them from even turning around or lying down comfortably throughout their short, painful lives. Farm Sanctuary has worked for decades to expose the truth behind veal production, and we’ve seen a continuous reduction in the per capita consumption of veal nationwide. Thankfully, some states are now passing laws to ban this cruel form of confinement.

In Ohio – one of the six largest veal producing states – the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board (OLCSB) is slated to discuss the veal issue soon. Earlier this summer, an agreement was reached between animal advocates and agribusiness representatives to phase out veal crates along with other egregious farming practices in Ohio, but it’s ultimately up to the OLCSB to officially put an end to one of the cruelest factory farming practices in existence.

Over the years, Farm Sanctuary and others have documented the intolerable suffering experienced by calves raised for veal, including in Wisconsin, the nations’ largest veal producing state. In the production, “Life Behind Bars,” Mary Tyler Moore contrasts how calves want to live with how they are confined in veal factories. This week, a new investigative video narrated by Bob Barker was released by Mercy For Animals and exposes cruelty at an Ohio veal farm. As a result, Costco has announced that they are removing crated veal from their store shelves.

It’s critical for Ohio citizens to contact the OLCSB to advocate for an end to veal crates and other cruel confinement systems. Meanwhile, all U.S. citizens can advocate for passage of the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act in Washington, D.C. to eliminate the use of veal from confined calves, as well as eggs from battery caged hens and meat from pigs kept in gestation crates in various federal programs like the National School Lunch Program. Please urge your U.S. Representative to cosponsor H.R. 4733.

Finally, it’s important to understand that the veal industry would not exist without the dairy industry. For dairy cows to produce milk, they have to be impregnated and give birth. Half the calves born are male, and they are useless to the dairy industry so the veal industry was created to use this plentiful supply of unwanted male calves. A few years ago, we released a video, called “Behind the Mustache,” that exposes this link between the veal and dairy industries, and includes the story of three Holstein calves who escaped from a certain early death to live their lives at our California shelter.

Throughout our history, we’ve rescued an estimated 100 male dairy calves, many who would have died at the hands of the veal industry had we not intervened. Unfortunately, we can’t rescue them all, and laws take time, but there is one thing that you can do to save lives every time you sit down for a meal. Not only can you eliminate veal from your diet, you can also forego dairy. There are plenty of healthy alternatives on the market in major grocery chains throughout the country – from soy milks, rice milks, nut milks and hemp milks, the alternatives are plenty. You don’t have to participate in an industry you know to be cruel, and every step toward compassion makes a difference for farm animals.

Posted at 11:39 AM

http://farmsanctuary.typepad.com/making_hay/2010/09/exposing-the-veal-and-dairy-...

http://current.com/groups/veganism/92645342_activists-urge-halt-to-veal-sales.ht...

Activists urge halt to veal sales

http://www.britishmeat.com/veal.html

Veal : A Cruel Meal

Photo: A calf lies dead in the slatted stall in which it stood for all of its life, with no mother, sunlight or decent food. This is the fate of a calf raised for veal

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.
5/15/97
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals- 501 Front Street - Norfolk, VA. 23510 - 757-622-PETA (7382)

R E S O U R C E S

The ALF FAQ
Meat and Cancer
Animal Rights FAQ
Facts on BSE (VIVA)
The Taste of Depravity
The Abolitionist Project
Animal Rights Resources
When Meat Is Not Murder
Low IQ Link to Eating Meat
Meat Is Murder (The Smiths)
The Post-Darwinian Transition
British Meat: the recipe for BSE
British Meat: the recipe for cancer
The Slaughter of Animals for Food
Meat: the recipe for prostate cancer
Slaughterhouse: video (mp4: 5.55Mb)
British Meat Cancer Education Service
Red meat: the recipe for breast cancer
Red meat: the recipe for bowel cancer?
British Meat: the recipe for food poisoning
British meat crisis: has BSE spread from cattle to sheep?
Contaminated American Meat Threatens Male Sperm Count