In 2020, the United States beef industry produced 27.6 billion pounds of beef and exported another 3 billion pounds. This is far larger than similar food industries, like the poultry industry which produced around 500 million chickens and over 200 million turkeys in 2019, according to Statista.
Beef is a popular staple and grocery list item in many American households because it can be used to make dishes like hamburgers, spaghetti and meatballs and meatloaf. Recently, however, there has been a rise in popularity for fake meat options, due to the negative environmental factors associated with the beef industry.
Besides beef, there are other meats associated with the beef industry like veal. But what is veal really? We have the answers for you.
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While probably sad for some to think about, veal is actually meat that comes from calves, which are baby cows or bulls. These calves are raised for 16 to 18 weeks and weigh up to 450 pounds, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
Veal is associated with many international cuisines such as French, Italian, German, Hungarian, Swiss and Czech.
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The veal industry often uses male dairy calves since they cannot give birth or produce milk, whilefemale dairy cows do. That means the males have little use to the dairy industry. Only a small percentage are raised to adulthood for breeding purposes, according to the USDA.
The USDA also says veal comes from a calf or young beef animal.
“Bob” veal comes from calves that are marketed at around three weeks of age and 150 pounds.