Veal out of the red with millennials as calf meat recast as ‘ethical’

FOR decades demand for veal has been dented by serious concerns about animal cruelty.

However, the meat is experiencing a revival after a campaign by chefs arguing that British veal is an ethical byproduct of the dairy industry.

The young calf meat gained a bad reputation in the Eighties, as suppliers in France and other European countries prized the “white” meat created by a low-iron diet and not allowing the calves to stretch and move.

Now, British suppliers are selling “pink” and “ruby” meat, from young cows raised with access to outdoor areas. These are often male cows from dairy herds, which were most likely to have been shot shortly after birth or exported to Europe.

Sustainable food delivery companies such as Abel & Cole and Farmdrop, which are popular with younger urbanites, have recently started stocking veal from small suppliers because of demand for the meat.

Gizzi Erskine, 39, the cookbook writer, has said that people need to stop being so squeamish about eating it and that it is “no worse than eating any other meat”.

She has included a veal bolognese recipe in her recent book, Slow, and said it was “important” to eat the meat.

The cook said that vegetarians who eat and drink dairy are “unknowingly hypocritical” about the “controversial” meat because “veal is meat from a young calf, and typically a male from a dairy herd. Dairy cows must produce calves to make milk but the males have no value, meaning they are either shot or exported to Europe in terrible conditions.”

She added: “In the UK a handful of dairy farmers have started rearing male calves on their farm to sell on as veal. These calves are reared to a highwelfare standard, going out to pasture and live out a contented life to around eight months old (several months older than lamb) and make excellent meat.”

Supermarkets are also experiencing a revival, with Waitrose launching Parmesan-crusted veal burgers, as well as meatballs and mince made from veal, to encourage less experienced home cooks to put it in their shopping trolley.