Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg has introduced legislation (A-1948) to outlaw inhumane methods used to produce veal. If enacted, this will be the first law in the United States to ban a cruel farming practice. By contrast, European nations have enacted legislation to ban veal production as well as other inhumane farming systems.

Gene Bauston, President of Farm Sanctuary, commented, "It is embarrassing that farm animal protection laws in the United States are so far behind those of other developed countries. We thank and commend Assemblywoman Weinberg for introducing legislation to outlaw cruel veal production, and we strongly support her proposal."

To produce veal, young calves are chained by the neck in two-foot-wide crates, and this is where they spend their entire lives. The calves are fed a diet deficient in iron and fiber in order to induce anemia and the pale-colored meat sold as veal. The Weinberg bill will outlaw these inhumane practices in the state, and it comes at a time of heightened consumer awareness and concern about cruel farming practices in New Jersey.

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture, which is currently drafting standards for the humane treatment of farm animals as mandated by state law, has received more than 20,000 comments urging a prohibition on veal production and other cruel farming methods. Various public opinion polls have found that most Americans oppose inhumane methods used to produce veal, and veal consumption in the U.S. has dropped from three pounds per person in the 1970's to less than one pound per person today. Over the past year, more than 20 New Jersey restaurants have signed Farm Sanctuary's pledge not to serve veal because of animal welfare concerns.

For more information about veal production and Farm Sanctuary's "No Veal" campaign, please see www.NoVeal.org; for more information about the New Jersey Department of Agriculture's drafting humane standards, please see www.NJfarms.org; and for more information about Farm Sanctuary, please see www.FarmSanctuary.org.