Is eating veal ethical? Isn't it unethical to waste all that meat? Does it just need an image change?

It depends on where and how it is prepared, but as a rule there is nothing wrong with the way it is raised and farmed.

It is proven that a well cared for animal (all types) have a far better quality meat than those that are abused in their treatment and transportation.

Here in this city two of our leading meat works have grazing paddocks where animals that have for one reason or another have a couple of days rest if they have been stored in trucks for several days due to weather delays etc.

A misconception is that all the male animals are going to waste. Most of the UK male dairy calves now end up in the beef market at around 30 months. Some end up becoming veal and most of the rest are sold to other EU states. The original problem stems from, when there was little to no veal market, beef prices were low and UK exports of live animals were banned which resulted in making dairy bulls worthless.

You are right to note that conditions have changed and actually British Rose veal is very ethical. As an industry that is open to extreme volatility there is nothing to say that the same conditions wont arise again to make dairy bulls worthless (especially if the EU gets its way with Mercosur negotiations to flood the EU with cheap inferior beef), so establishing a stronger veal market would certainly go a long way in securing the long term future of dairy bulls.

All in all we should as a modern society stem our attitude towards food, it has become one of greed than one for survival, gratefulness, taste and enjoyment. We should be setting a higher standard for animals than one that is cheap to rear.

Veal, well no we should not expect any animal to be locked up in tiny places to provide us a quality meat one that is then sold to a particular consumer due to the shear price. It should put a foul taste in anyone mouth if they have a heart that is. Be it if you are an omnivore or vegetarian you will or have consumed milk so its in high demand therefore a big industry. Like it or not the so called animal activists thought it would be better destroying the veal industry than improving it, resulting in male calf's being culled the moment they are born due to no money being invested in the veal industry. How waste is all of a sudden better than not being wasted is beyond me, how can the bolt the moment you are born be the better alternative. Now some farmers are trying to breed with a beef bull so that at least the new borns will not die in vein. However despite being bread for meat it is not good quality so a cheap cut. It does no matter what non farming people say, it kills them when their stock dies they can be very sensitive people, most of them are.

If calf's are to be born not in vein then the veal industry should be revamped to at least where veal can be reared as ethically as possible. Rose veal has been proven the better alternative and done right should not be looked on negatively but we will still unable to please the extremists no matter what. Our whole industry should be looked at as I fear we have already tipped the scales to the industrial farming than the better alternative. That is shocking and even more so that so called animal lovers who are against the meat trade is helping it along the wrong path!!!

Yes I'd say it's the most ethical meat to eat. All male calves are slaughtered and then thrown as they don't produce milk and they are not breeding. Well some males must be , but only the very few best ones. The rest is killed and chucked away. Eating veal is better for the farmers and their income and also better for the total waste. It is delicious by the way.

i live in the US and have seen the veal industry first hand and while i'm known for willing to try almost anything it actually bothered me how they were treated placed in boxes no light never allowed to stand it was disturbing and it doesn't bother me about how they process chickens but the baby cows really bothered me

I don't think it would be unethical to allow the calves to grow up and just eat the steers as adults

Yes. No. No.