Theanemiccalf’sinsatiable cravingforiron is oneof the
reasonstheproducerisanxioustopreventhimturningaround
inhisstall.Althoughcalves,likepigs,normallyprefernotto
goneartheirownurineormanure,urinedoescontainsome
iron. Thedesireforiron isstrongenough toovercome the
naturalrepugnance,andtheanemiccalveswilllicktheslats
thataresaturatedwithurine.Theproducerdoesnotlikethis,
becauseitgivescalvesalittleironandbecauseinlickingthe
slats thecalvesmaypickup infectionsfrom their manure,
which falls on the same spot as their urine.
WehaveseenthatintheviewofProvimi,Inc.,thetwinaims
of veal production are producing a calf of the greatest
possibleweightintheshortestpossibletimeandkeepingthe
meataslightincoloraspossible.Wehaveseenwhatisdone
toachievethesecondoftheseaims,butthereismoretobe
said about the techniques used to achieve fast growth.
To makeanimalsgrowquicklytheymust takein asmuch
foodaspossible,andtheymustuseupaslittleofthisfoodas
possibleintheirdailylife.Toseethatthevealcalftakesinas
muchaspossible,mostcalvesaregivennowater.Theironly
sourceofliquidistheirfood—therichmilkreplacerbasedon
powderedmilkandaddedfat.Sincethebuildingsinwhich
theyarehousedarekeptwarm, thethirstyanimals takein
moreoftheirfood thantheywould doiftheycoulddrink
water.Acommonresultofthisovereatingisthatthecalves
breakoutinasweat,ratherlike,ithasbeensaid,anexecutive
whohashadtoomuchtoeattooquickly.^100 Insweating,the
calf loses moisture, which makes him thirsty, so that he
overeatsagainnexttime.Bymoststandardsthisprocessisan
unhealthy one, but by the standards of the veal producer
aimingatproducingtheheaviestcalfintheshortestpossible