restaurants.Fortunatelythisindustrydoesnotcompareinsize
withpoultry,beef,orpigproduction;neverthelessitisworth
our attentionbecause itrepresentsan extreme,both in the
degreeofexploitationtowhichitsubjectstheanimalsandin
itsabsurdinefficiencyasamethodofprovidingpeoplewith
nourishment.
Vealistheflesh ofa youngcalf. Thetermwasoriginally
reservedforcalveskilledbeforetheyhadbeenweanedfrom
their mothers.The flesh ofthese very young animals was
palerandmoretenderthanthatofacalfwhohadbeguntoeat
grass;buttherewasnotmuchofit,sincecalvesbegintoeat
grasswhentheyareafewweeksoldandstillverysmall.The
smallamountavailablecamefromtheunwantedmalecalves
producedbythedairyindustry.Adayortwoafterbeingborn
theyweretruckedtomarketwhere,hungryandfrightenedby
thestrangesurroundingsand theabsence oftheir mothers,
they were sold for immediate delivery to the slaughterhouse.
Theninthe1950svealproducersinHollandfoundawayto
keepthecalfalivelongerwithoutthefleshbecomingredor
lesstender.Thetrickdependsonkeepingthecalfinhighly
unnaturalconditions.Ifcalveswereleftto growupoutside
they would
romp around the fields, developing muscles that would
toughentheirfleshandburningupcaloriesthattheproducer
mustreplacewithcostlyfeed.Atthesametimetheywould
eatgrass,and theirfleshwouldlosethepalecolorthatthe
fleshofnewborncalveshas.Sothespecialistvealproducers
take their calves straight from the auction ring to a
confinementunit.Here,inaconvertedbarnorspeciallybuilt
shed,theyhaverowsofwoodenstalls,each 1 foot 10 inches
wideby 4 feet 6 incheslong.Ithasaslattedwoodenfloor,