The Owego Pennysaver, December 9, 2001

By pledging not to serve crated, anemic veal, a majority of Watkins Glen area restaurants have expressed an interest in preventing unnecessary animal suffering.

Farm Sanctuary heartily commends these establishments for promoting compassion. Restaurants in Watkins Glen and Montour Falls that have pledged to serve no veal include Savard's, Grapevine Deli, The Falls Café, The Melting Pot, Blue Ribbon Diner, Glen Mountain Market, House of Hong, Seneca Harbor Station, and Café Alsace, while the Wildflower Café, Jerlando's, and Franklin St. Grille have pledged not to serve crated anemic veal. According to Mark Simiele, President of the Seneca Harbor Station Restaurant, "Veal is something that we were committed against in principle - something we feel strongly about. Given the other resources available for food, it just isn't something that we need to do. We have a problem with how the calves are raised and handled. The ethical question was the main issue when deciding to not sell veal."

As part of its national 'Say No to Veal' campaign, Farm Sanctuary asked local restaurants to pledge not to sell inhumane 'white' veal.

To produce 'white' veal, newborn calves are taken from their mothers and chained by the neck in small wooden crates just two feet wide. The calves cannot move, and this prevents their muscles from developing, so their flesh remains soft. The calves are fed an all-liquid diet deficient in iron and fiber, designed to cause anemia and produce the pale-colored flesh sold as 'white' veal. Farm Sanctuary has established a website, www.noveal.org, which lists scores of suporting restaurants across the United States. Among them are Hard Rock Café, Tavern on the Green, and the Russian Tea Room.

Practices used to produce 'white' veal are so cruel that they have been outlawed in Europe, but they remain legal in the United States despite widespread public opposition. In a recent Zogby poll, four out of five respondents said it was unacceptable to confine calves in narrow crates, and the same number said it was unacceptable to feed calves an anemic diet.

Farm Sanctuary, based in Watkins Glen, is a national non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and protecting farm animals. With over 90,000 members, Farm Sanctuary is one of the nation's leading voices for farm animals. For information on the organization, visit www.farmsanctuary.org.