Why We Should All Eat Veal!

Text by Nicolas Buteau

I am all for animal rights, even though (as befits this issue), I am currently more concerned with our civil liberties. I find fur appalling in Europe’s mild winters, and I have almost given up on foie gras. Many Europeans will feel the same: European Union cows receive more income than Tesco textile workers in Bangladesh. Nevertheless, our love of animals conceals a rotten logic.

My latest political “pet project” is veal meat, which I think deserves to be rehabilitated. Picture this: a few British friends, 3 hours of cooking a blanquette, and all I get is “I don’t eat veal!” No apologies, not even compliments: I am meant to feel guilty for serving veal to British guests. Apparently, for such a nation of animal lovers, it is like serving wild goose to Nils Holgerson. Part of me understands: I find the idea of eating horse despicable, and this is a family thing that dates back to WW1 (although not shared by all my compatriots). But I am amazed by British double standards: the country sees fox hunting as a pleasurable pursuit, and it’s not like the Nazis were defeated on calf backs. And Europe’s love of young animals doesn’t seem to extend to poussins, bruised battery chickens or “farmed” (sardined in a pond and fed with steroids) salmon.

This deserved further investigation. As it happens, I am largely ignorant, and veal consumption is a great marker of European division, as we are split between those who eat it (the usual Catholic suspects) and those who don’t (the ethical ones): in the UK, the beef market, at £1.4bn, is 700 times bigger than the veal market (which probably exists at all due to French and Italian expats). Europe is also split between those countries that ban calf rearing (notably the UK) and those that don’t (notably the Netherlands). A legitimate argument of the anti-veal brigade is that conditions to produce “formula-fed” veal are cruel: animals are separated from their mothers, fed a mixture of milk and antibiotics, and kept in narrow crates with low lighting and ventilation to ensure anaemic, tender, white meat. This is disgusting and I applaud animal rights activists. Newer rearing methods, however, ensure a “non formula” diet rich in iron, and ethical treatment, including light and space. A new EU Council Directive, effective 1st January 2007, fully bans crates and anaemic diets after 15 years of political wrangling, and it is a disgrace that it took them so long. Where I disagree with the anti-veal brigade is on transportation, which they denounce for the sake of it: sadly, since calves are the offshoot of dairy consumption, the only alternative to exportation is to slaughter male calves, for no other reason than their only use is to increase milk production.

This brings me to my central argument: rear calves and eat veal, or stop binging on dairy products. I can’t believe how much dairy products non-veal eaters consume: in tea (which is wholly unnecessary); in clotted cream; in revolting egg creams; in Yakult and Actimel for adults and Petits Filous for kids; and in ice creams, Easter eggs and chocolate bars. Despite over-consumption, Europe still seems to produce more milk than it needs, and leftovers find their way to Africa where they are sold as powder milk for starving African mothers. This is the sad loop we are in: cash for cows, powder milk in Africa and slaughtered calves in Europe - milk abundance beyond “security” at the expense of human decency and animal rights. There is a strong (if stupid) case, if willing to protect calves, to give up dairy products altogether. There is a more realistic case for ramping up our veal intake to the tipping point where consumption matches the output of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and prevents wasteful slaughter. Good practices would be established, along the preference of ethical veal-eaters. A much stronger case is for cutting farm subsidies that encourage indecent overproduction and the slaughter of young animals, and that places the developing world in a cycle of dependence. This is the sickening side of the EU CAP. I rest my case, and I end with an osso bucco recipe.

OSSO BUCCO (4-6 people). Organic Dutch veal meets good ethical standards. In a casserole or large pan (with lead), sauté 30 grams of butter and 2 spoons of olive oil with 2 sliced carrots, 1 chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic (crushed or chopped) until onions are nice and golden. Coat 6 veal shanks with flour, and sauté 30 seconds on each side. Remove excess fat. Add a large can of pureed tomatoes (500g), a glass of dry white wine, thyme, a bay leaf and the zest of half a lemon. Cover and cook gently for 1 ½ hour (stir occasionally and add a bit of water if the sauce dries up). Prepare the gremolata: mix chopped parsley and garlic, and the zest of half a lemon. Serve the veal shanks with sauce, and sprinkle with gremolata. Serve with risotto or gnocchi.