Straight answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions on veal production.

Q: Where does veal come from?

A. Veal is a nutritious and nutrient-rich meat that is produced from the male offspring of dairy cows. Dairy cows give birth once a year in order to continue producing milk. While female offspring serve as dairy replacement animals, male calves had little value to the dairy farmer prior to the establishment of milk-fed veal farming.

Q: How long does a veal calf stay with the dairy cow? When and why are calves separated from the cow?

A. Both male and female offspring of dairy cows are normally removed from cows soon after giving birth. This separation allows dairy cows to return to the herd and produce milk for human consumption. While calves are not with the dairy cow following birth, they still receive her colostrum, or first milk, within 24 hours. Full of antibodies and essential nutrients, colostrum gives the calves' immune systems a healthy boost. Early separation also allows the dairy farmer to measure the amount of colostrum the calf receives, within the proper time frame.

In addition, certain udder diseases in cows and intestinal problems in calves can be more effectively controlled with early separation. Also, the much smaller calf could be physically injured and face health challenges by remaining within the herd of much larger, mature cows.

Q: How big are veal calves when they are marketed?

A. Typically, veal farmers buy surplus dairy bull calves at about 100-120 pounds and raise them for approximately 18-20 weeks, until they weigh upward of 475-500 pounds.

Q: What does milk-fed mean?

A. Milk-fed, special-fed and formula-fed are names given to nutritionally balanced milk protein based diets used in veal farming. These diets contain iron and 40 other essential nutrients including proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Conceptually, the milk-based diet is very similar to infant formula.

Q: How are veal calves housed?

A. Milk-fed veal calves are housed in a well-lit barn, allowing family veal farmers to easily monitor calves for changes in health, behavior and eating patterns.

Modern veal housing is designed to partition the animals only up to the shoulder level, ensuring calves visual and physical interactions with their neighbors. Calves are also tethered which allows farmers to gently and safely handle calves for purposes of contact, feeding, treatment and sanitizing, while also reducing the risk of calves harming themselves and each other. Calves can comfortably lie down in natural positions, stand up and groom themselves. This type of housing and tethering allows animals to receive their own feed, individual care and attention. Most importantly, individual housing has been shown to help prevent the spread of disease by limiting calf-to-calf contact while allowing socialization.

Q: How are veal barns ventilated?

A. A climate controlled ventilation system is monitored through the use of fans, inlets and controls. Ventilation systems affect air temperature, moisture level and condensation on surfaces, air speed, odor and gas concentrations, and dust levels. As the ventilating system exchanges air, it brings in oxygen to sustain life.

Heat is supplied during cold weather to maintain the desired environment for veal production, which is less stressful to the calf than a widely varying environment. During the first one to two weeks after birth, barn temperature of 60°F to 70°F is desired to help alleviate stress from the calves'. As calves grow and mature, room temperature is dropped to 55°F by four weeks of age.

Q: Are veal calves healthy?

A. Veal producers carefully watch each calf to be sure it is not suffering any clinical symptoms of anemia, such as weakness or loss of appetite. Calves must receive diets with iron to meet the animals' requirements for normal health and behavior. A calf that does not eat will not grow.

Q: Why is veal meat light in color?

A. The light meat results from the age of the calf and the level of myoglobin (iron content) in the muscle. Myoglobin produces a red pigment that affects the color of the meat. To keep the meat light, without harming calf health, the amount of iron a calf receives is controlled through a nutritionally balanced milk-based diet and monitored on a regular basis.

Q: Do veal calves routinely receive antibiotics?

A. The only time that veal calves receive "therapeutic" doses of antibiotics (levels high enough to treat illness) is when they are sick and recommended by a veterinarian. As soon as the animal recovers, the use of therapeutic medication is discontinued.

Q: What percentage of veal is government inspected?

A. Federal regulation dictates that each and every food-producing animal marketed, including veal calves, be visually inspected for signs of disease and other food safety concerns. If visual inspection shows a potential problem, the meat is held and tested. If any of these tests show violation for residue, the meat never reaches the food supply.

Q: Why do veal producers need to develop ethical principles?

A. We know that today's consumers have limited understanding of today's veal. And while we know that we are committed to producing a safe and tasty product, we need to be able to articulate the principles that guide us. Consumer research tells us that shared values and ethics are four to five times more important in building consumer trust than being able to prove what we do is scientifically sound. A formal set of ethical principles allows the US veal industry to clearly communicate our commitment and our values in a way that builds consumer trust and confidence in what we do.

Q: How do the ethical principles impact me?

A. Implementation of the ethical standards by producers is voluntary. We believe that most veal farmers are already operating in a way that is consistent with the ethical principles being proposed. By supporting formal ethical principles and encouraging your colleagues and employees to do the same, you will be communicating your commitment to doing what's right. This will help the public better understand what you do and build trust in the entire US veal industry. Ultimately this will help protect your freedom to operate.

Q: How were the ethical principles identified?

A. The proposed ethical principles are a project of the Joint VIM/VQA Committee and were identified by a cross-section of veal industry participants during a working session in July. The draft language was developed after that session and was distributed with a survey for industry feedback to determine whether the proposed ethical principles fairly represent the guiding values of our industry. The final draft was adopted at the AVA annual meeting in July providing full industry alignment for the standards.

Q: Do the proposed ethical principles impact the Veal Quality Assurance (VQA) program?

A. The ethical principles are a complement to the VQA program. The goal of the VQA program is to build consumer trust and confidence in veal and to demonstrate our commitment to producing a safe, nutritious and delicious product for our customers. As veal producers and others involved in the industry, we know that we are committed to producing safe, nutritious food, protecting the environment, caring for our animals, providing a safe, rewarding work environment and contributing to our communities. We cannot assume that our customers and consumers understand that we are committed to doing what's right unless we communicate these ethical principles in partnership with the best management practices contained in the VQA program.

Q: What's Next?

A. The Joint VIM/VQA Committee will conduct a "gap" analysis to determine where the best practices contained in the VQA need to be better aligned with the ethical standards and codes of conduct. The Committee will implement a process to narrow any gaps and work to update the VQA program to better reflect today's industry practices and provide guidance to producers using a variety of production methods.