The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals recently reached a new agreement with Albert Heijn's veal supplier VanDrie Group, the world's 
largest producer of veal, for further improving the welfare of calves. Veal that is produced according to this agreement will be marked with the "Better Life" symbol. Among the agreed points are to provide a diet that prevents anemia, feed calves twice as much roughage as legally compulsory, and fulfill certain criteria for humane transport.
Albert Heijn has played an important role in making this agreement possible. Prior to the current agreement, the Dutch SPA and VanDrie had made first steps in improving the welfare of calves. In 1988, the VanDrie Group, on the request of the Dutch SPA, started to keep calves in group housing and give them roughage besides milk, two practices that others in the industry had thought were not viable. Albert Heijn started to sell the veal from these calves. Their success in selling the products proved that the practices were technically and economically feasible, and as a result the rest of the veal industry started to follow this good example. The Dutch and European authorities eventually made these practices compulsory.
