Veal
meat of calves (young cattle)
Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, veal is more expensive by mass than beef from older cattle. Veal production is a way to add value to dairy bull calves and to utilize whey solids, a byproduct from the manufacturing of cheese.
The ethics of veal production have been challenged on grounds of animal welfare and cruelty, leading to some bans and restrictions in Europe and the United States. Specific practices cited as cruel include restricting the calves' space, denying them solid feed, and limiting their iron intake.
Definitions and types
There are several types of veal, and terminology varies by country.
Bob veal
Calves slaughtered as early as 2 hours or 2–3 days old (at most 1 month old), yielding carcasses weighing from to 9–27 kilograms (20–60 pounds).
Formula-fed ("milk-fed", "special-fed" or "white") veal
Calves are raised on a fortified milk formula diet plus solid feed. The majority of veal meat produced in the US are from milk-fed calves.
The public source identifies “Veal” as meat of calves (young cattle). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Veal, meat and calves.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q957434. The Library of Congress control number is sh85142444. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Veal” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.