VEAL OBJECTIONS

The publication of the veal stew recipe (“Of Rustic Origins”) in your March 25 issue was most inappropriate and insensitive to the fact that there is a call for a national boycott of veal--a show of support for the Veal Calf Protection Act--by most animal-protection and rights groups. Legislation is pending at state and federal levels to establish humane veal-farming methods.

Currently, veal “factory farms” immobilize calves in the dark in wooden crates so small that the calves cannot move or turn around. Various drugs (that may be retained in the meat) are fed and injected to ward off disease and to keep them alive. These practices are cruel and inhumane.

CAROL PELLY, Calabasas

Colman Andrews replies: The American veal industry categorically denies most of the charges made by veal-boycott groups about the way veal is raised. An informative pamphlet on the matter is obtainable free of charge from the Veal Committee, National Live Stock and Meat Board, 444 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.