The American Veal Association’s (AVA) Ethical Commitments is an evolution of our Statement of Principles, first adopted by the organization in 2010. The Ethical Commitments further demonstrate the association’s commitment to food safety, animal welfare, environmental stewardship, and labor and human rights and include the addition of indicators and targets.
“Our organization is very excited about these commitments and share our devotion toward the animals, people and natural resources entrusted to our care,” said AVA President Sonia Arnold, Ph.D. “These Ethical Commitments outline our dedication to producing veal in the most sustainable and ethical manner possible today and in the future.”
The AVA has outlined commitments for our veal farm partners and employees within each core principle and set target dates and stages to meet those goals.
“Verification of our progress will be achieved through various means such as audits, validation from licensed veterinarians and reports to the North American Meat Institute’s Protein Pact,” Arnold said.
“Resourcefulness and sustainability are core to the heritage of the veal industry. Milk-fed veal utilizes Holstein bull calves from dairy farms and excess whey and skim milk powder from cheese and butter manufacturers to produce a high-quality protein. This process reduces food waste, enriches communities in rural America, and provides an excellent source of nutrition for consumers.”
“Resourcefulness and sustainability are core to the heritage of the veal industry,” Arnold concluded. “Milk-fed veal utilizes Holstein bull calves from dairy farms and excess whey and skim milk powder from cheese and butter manufacturers to produce a high-quality protein. This process reduces food waste, enriches communities in rural America, and provides an excellent source of nutrition for consumers.”
The Ethical Commitments include five principle areas:
1. Animal Welfare – Quality Care for Our Animals at Every Stage of Life
AVA members are committed to the wellbeing of the animals we raise. The Veal Quality Assurance (VQA) program, which is updated at least every five years and validated on farms by accredited veterinarians, is at the core of the Animal Welfare principle. The VQA program funded by the National Beef Checkoff is embraced by our membership to apply best management practices to achieve or exceed animal welfare outcomes in all stages of veal production. The program was developed by a technical advisory group to ensure it is science-based.
2. Environment – Conservation of our Precious Natural Resources
AVA members are committed to continuous improvement of management practices including management of manure, water and food processing residuals.
One of the indicators and targets within the Environment section is to complete a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to quantify the environmental impacts of U.S. veal farm production and identify ways to mitigate and reduce environmental impacts. The veal LCA assessment of greenhouse gas emissions was completed in 2024 and found farms had an environmental impact of 2.88 kg of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per kg of veal when studied from birth to market. Further details of the study can be found here.
3. Food Safety – Safe, Quality Food as Our First Responsibility
AVA membership is committed to ensuring that we provide quality food people can have confidence in. We excel in food safety using proven technologies, biosecurity practices, third-party audits and employee training. We also have a commitment to continuous improvement and adopting practices that protect food safety. Traceability of U.S.-raised veal from farm to product package is one of our targets we have completed.
4. Health & Wellness – Veal’s Role in a Healthy Diet
AVA membership is committed to providing accurate, science-based information on the nutritional value of veal and its role in a healthy diet. Additionally, AVA membership is committed to serving under-nourished people through food donations in local communities and across the United States.
5. Labor & Human Rights – Enhancing the Quality of Life for People and Our Communities
Family-owned businesses make up the veal industry and these businesses and individuals work to meet or exceed all regulations that apply to each step of the process of producing veal from farm to market. The AVA is dedicated to promoting a safe and healthy work environment, strengthening our communities through an engaged workforce and local volunteerism while supporting workforce diversity and providing training and professional growth for our workforce and veal farmers.