The American veal market may be on its way to a revival in the near future as a result of a novel and humane way to raise cattle for veal, recently developed by the Tufts' School of Veterinary Medicine.
Last spring, the Vet School won a $480,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in order for Dr. George Saperstein, professor of environment and population health, to investigate a more reliable way for dairy farmers to make money.
Since milk prices were so low, Saperstein thought that it would be more economically efficient to feed the milk to the calves and humanely produce veal, rather than to sell the milk.
Rather than constricting calves to a small cage - the traditional method of raising veal calves - a collection of professors and students led by Saperstein, have begun to allow veal calves to graze in an open field, and feed from live cows.
The research leading up to the innovation in cattle-raising is the result of an effort to assist local dairy farmers. With the generally unpredictable milk prices dwindling this year, and a lack of other products to fall back on, many dairy farmers have been forced out of business.
Saperstein said that the problem lies in the fact that many dairy companies "are one-product companies."
The Vet School has an interest in making sure that local dairy farmers do not go bankrupt, since much of the research and field work done by the Vet School students take place on these farms.
"We teach large animal medicine to students in the field using local dairy farms; they are similar to teaching hospitals," Saperstein said.
An attempt to produce marketable veal in a more humane way had no precedent, but with so many dairy farmers going out of business, there were few other options.
"We really didn't know if any of our experiments would work," Saperstein said, but he and his colleagues foresaw many advantages if the project was a success.
According to Saperstein, it costs farmers almost the same amount to produce a pound of milk as they make from selling it. Milk, on its own, had lost nearly all profitability.
"By selling veal, farmers should be able to double their net profit," Saperstein said.
In addition, veal calves will be treated in a less-cruel way, and cows that used to make milk will now feed calves and will be able to work longer, before being sold as beef.
The grazing of calves is also more a more efficient and environmentally-safe use for the land.
After the research was completed, the question remained whether or not people would like the veal. The veal was sent to four local restaurants for testing and received favorable reviews.
This different method of production will produce a somewhat different product. According to Saperstein, such methods should result in a slightly darker and different tasting meat, as well as give farmers a new source of income.
"With this veal, the flavor is a little more pronounced and the color is a little darker, but it's delicious. It was very tender, and it has a very mild flavor," Steven Shipley, director of culinary relations at Johnson & Wales University, told the Worchester Telegram and Gazette.
Since the 1950s, fewer and fewer people have eaten veal because of humanitarian concerns. "We expect this veal to appeal to a niche market of customers who used to eat veal but don't anymore," Saperstein said.
As of yet, there has not been any organized opposition to Saperstein's work with veal. "Many people here on campus are appalled when they hear the term veal because they picture calves placed in very small crates that restrict movement," said Lara Weaver, assistant director of the Vet School's Teach and Research Resources Program. "I think once this project was explained they felt much better about it."
The new type of veal will be the first of a series of food products to be marketed under the environmentally-friendly Azuluna logo.
Working with marketing consultant Ted Kolata and the Boston-based company Cymbal Branding, Saperstein copyrighted the Azuluna logo for Tufts. If any business should want to market their products under the logo, the University would receive licensing payments.
Saperstein hopes that the logo will eventually come to be associated with environmentally safe and humane practices. "Consumers will know that when they buy Azuluna products, they are directly supporting agriculture," he said.
"Whether this method of raising dairy bull calves for veal will be readily accepted by farmers in the region remains to be seen," she said.
A second project to be developed under the Azuluna label will involve a new type of egg. Using "Americauna" chickens - a mix of the Chilean Aracauna chicken with the average American egg laying chicken - Saperstein has been producing blue eggs with a creamier texture than normal eggs.
Unlike the veal project, these eggs are more expensive to produce than regular eggs, and will therefore be priced higher. Saperstein is hoping that the veal's popularity will bring enough brand loyalty to Azuluna that the eggs can be successfully marketed to their own niche market of environmentally conscious consumers.
"We are not competing with the eggs that sell for $1.25 a dozen," he said. "Our customers will be making a statement about their lifestyle by buying our 'premium designer' eggs."
Saperstein does not expect any large scale production of the veal by farmers until this coming fall, with egg production hopefully beginning approximately six months later. Both items still need to attract companies that would sell them to local vendors. Saperstein said they are still in the test marketing phase.
The next project in the works for Azuluna and Saperstein is free range pork.
Sarika Prasad Cardoso, a master's student in the Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (AFE) program at Tufts' School of Nutrition Science and Policy, was involved in the early research stages of this project last semester.
"This semester I'll be focusing more on the marketing issues, including how to gauge what the market is for alternatively-produced pork, who makes up that market, and what potential consumers are most concerned about," she said.
