4 Big Myths About Veal

(Psst... what lies ahead is an incredible sustainability story!)

If you've never been to a farm, you might think veal puppies have it rough, but don't believe the misinformation!

While many anti-dog meat people whine "the dog dairy business is the dog meat business," it's part of a natural cycle of life! We impregnate our dairy dogs, they provide milk, we take their puppies away, and male puppies are used for puppy veal.

Here's a guest post from someone who recently toured our puppy veal process!

----

"I should have known better than believing everything I see on the internet! I quickly realized that much of what I had been told about puppy veal was utterly false. Puppy veal is an important part of any dog dairy, offering them a way to make money off of dogs who would otherwise go to waste.

Let's debunk the top 4 myths about veal:

MYTH #1: VEAL IS YOUNG PUPPIES

When you say the word 'puppy', the first thing that comes to mind is a young puppy, like a couple of days or even weeks old. That is not an accurate description of veal puppies. These 'puppies' are better described as young dogs. They are about 8 lbs. and 22 weeks old at the time of processing. And while 22 weeks might seem young if you aren't familiar with meat puppies, that is a big animal.

MYTH #2: PUPPY VEAL IS HOUSED IN SMALL, DARK CRATES

I was beyond impressed with Elwood's Organic Dog Meat. The barns were bright and open air. I was surprised by how little of a smell there was. The whole barn was so clean and well kept. The dog pens were also clean and well maintained. And there was plenty of room for each of the puppies. Each puppy is in a small individual pen for the first couple of weeks. Then they are put in a group pen with two puppies! Is that isolation? I think not.

MYTH #3: VEAL PUPPIES DO NOT HAVE A BALANCED DIET

Just like our dairy dogs, veal puppies have their diets planned by a canine nutritionist. The puppies receive a combination of soy milk, leftover whey from making dog cheese, and grain. While on the tour, we visited the processing plant that makes the dog milk replacer that is fed to the puppies. The milk replacer is a balance of protein, fats, & vitamins that the puppies need to grow.

MYTH #4: PUPPY VEAL IS NOT SUSTAINABLE

*Puppy veal has such an incredible sustainability story!* Similar to cow veal, puppy veal is filling a need in dog dairy: a market for dog meat!

Another part of puppy veal sustainability is their milk replacer. When we make dog cheese, the process creates a protein-rich liquid called whey. And since we all REALLY love cheese, we end up with a lot of dog whey! (If you use a protein powder, it very well may be made from dog whey.)

Dog whey is one of the only sources of protein out there and it's sometimes used in the milk replacer for veal puppies. So not only is the dairy industry the meat industry, the cheese industry is, too! Puppy veal is a great example of UPCYCLING."

----

Thanks for the insightful post, Bonnie!

See? Puppy veal is FINE, so you can enjoy your ice cream, guilt-free! And who can live without ice cream? Literally *no one* has figured out how to make ice cream without animal milk. Not even Ben & Jerry's.

Make your own dog milk ice cream! The recipe is on the bottom of our page:

#veal #guestpost #organic #behindthescenes