Kinder, Gentler Veal

And Other Concerns

We serve a lot of veal at Riddle's and it's important to me to buy from a consistent, high quality source. It's a big deal to change veal packers, and in ten years I've only done so twice. Both times were in response to supply problems and both occasioned a lot of time on my part experimenting with different brands (rejecting most) until I found what I wanted.

Of course, I'm aware that a lot of people who enjoy the taste of veal are becoming reluctant to order it because of concerns about the way veal is raised and processed. And I've seen the magazine ads picturing sad-eyed veal calves in tiny stalls too small for them to even turn around.

The problem with this type of PR campaign, while surely well-intentioned and not without a basis in fact, is the very general, broad brush impressions left with the casual reader.

For example, a number of my customers have told me that they just couldn't enjoy tuna at Riddle's while imagining those pitiful dolphins, like Flipper, helplessly flailing in tuna nets. The good news is that the giant, multinational tuna canning concerns that used huge drag nets have just recently responded to public pressure by modifying their fishing techniques.

But unlike this lower quality, canning grade tuna, primarily a product of Asian Pacific fleets, fresh tuna (the kind we serve) has to come from waters much closer to home, usually right off the Gulf coast of the U.S. The tuna I buy is caught by small, independent fishermen on "long line" baited hooks, with care taken not to bruise or cut the meat, which would reduce its value on the fresh seafood market. No nets. No dolphins.

There is more than one way to get Veal Dijon to the table, as well. I called my supplier, the Landy Veal Company, in Woodsville, New Hampshire, to get the straight scoop. They were all too familiar with the bad press generated by the veal "factory farms." In a letter of response, Vice President David Landy had this to say: "We at Landy Veal offer an alternative to this type of veal, which we believe is of the highest quality on the market today.

"We are processors of naturally fed, or 'dairy veal', also known as 'milk veal' or 'bob veal'. Our calves are not penned up but are allowed to graze freely.

"They are also free of antibiotics, hormones and other growth regulators common in the 'factory farm' raised veal.

"We are asking that you do not confuse our type of 'dairy veal' with this other type of 'factory farm' raised veal."

I think it's good and worthwhile to be aware of what one eats and where it comes from. But I'm concerned that due to the nature of mass communications itself, raw information tends to inundate us in huge, fuzzy waves, while knowledge, which is borne of precision and detail, is lost in the media battle to score a few simple points in as many minds as possible.

In an age of paid-ad ethics and sound-bite science, it could be that our macro-anxieties are robbing life of its simplest and most natural pleasures.

Go ahead and order a fresh, grilled tuna steak at Riddle's. Have a rich veal dish. Use real butter! And by all means, enjoy your favorite alcoholic beverage. That's why you went out to eat!

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