After a field trip to a local ranch, the boys discover what veal is and try to save the baby cows before they get slaughtered.
"Fun with Veal" contains examples of:
- Animal Gender-Bender: The calves all have udders. Since they are veal calves, they are presumably all males.
- Artistic License – Biology: Veal comes from dairy calves — male calves, specifically, who cannot provide milk for the dairy — yet it's clear that the ranch the boys visit is for beef cattle.
- Berserk Button: Kyle disobeying her, along with Sharon mocking her efforts after she boasted she could get the boys out, causes Sheila to throw herself at Stan's door, screaming and punching the door, demanding to be let in.
- Body Horror: The rash that Stan develops over the course of the episode turns out to be a bunch of small vaginas growing on his skin as a result of not eating meat, and that if the disease runs its course, he will turn into a giant vagina.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Kyle screams at his mom he doesn't care if she's angry with him, because she made him eat veal without telling him what it was.Sheila: Kyle, if you don't do as you're told, I'm going to get very angry!
Kyle: Well, you made me eat veal without telling me what it was. So go ahead and be angry, you baby calf-killing bitch! - Chekhov's Gag: During the negotiations with the FBI, Cartman manages to get the FDA to change the name "veal" to "tortured baby cow". This winds up saving the calves at the end when Rancher Bob reveals the name change has caused the product market to dry up so now there's no need to slaughter the calves.
- Children Are Tender-Hearted: The kids are upset to see that veal calves are kept chained up, but none of the adults seem to be bothered by it.
- Comically Missing the Point:
- Butters brings over Suzanne Somers' Calf Exerciser to strengthen the baby cows. When Kyle expresses his frustration at the plan, Butters points out that it isn't just a gimmick since Somers promises right on the box that it works.
- Cartman suggests they transport the calves from the farm by killing Butters and floating the calves on a river of his blood. Kyle protests the plan... because Butters doesn't have enough blood in him to make it viable. Butters then immediately claims that he does have enough blood for the plan to work.
- When the news reports on the calf crisis, Butters exclaims, "Hey, look — some other kids are doin' the same thing we are!" Cartman promptly issues him a Dope Slap.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Even Barbrady questions the FBI negotiator's abilities.
- Epic Fail: The FBI negotiator gives Cartman everything (weapons included!) in exchange for broken promises.
- Everyone Has Standards: Stan decides he will never eat meat again. The other boys however only want to stop baby cows from being tortured and stated that they're not going to give up eating meat all together. They're also not too fond of the hippies who came to join their protest.
- Extreme Doormat: Glen Dumont, AKA "Mike" the negotiator, who Cartman swiftly runs rings around. By the end of the hold out he has given the boys guns and ammunition, a nuclear missile, officially re-termed veal into "little tortured baby cows", and given them a cow loading truck to evacuate them to Mexico, driven by Michael Dorn, all while still not getting a single calf.FBI Chief: (outraged) Alright, that does it! You are in fact the worst negotiator I have ever seen in action!!
"Mike": Alright. I'll give you that. But in return, I want three staples.
FBI Chief: GET OUT OF HERE!!! - Funny Background Event:
- While Cartman's on the phone, Kyle and Butters play with the newly acquired weapons.
- When the news is interviewing Craig's parents, Craig briefly flips off the news camera.
- Gasshole: Cartman farts in Kyle's face after he forces the latter to kiss his ass. Kyle then tackles him when he refuses to go along after all that.
- I Am Not Spock: In-Universe. Michael Dorn repeatedly has to point out to people that he is Michael and Worf is a character he plays.
- Insistent Terminology:
- The boys manage to get the FDA to change the name "veal" to "tortured baby cow" in order to discourage people from buying it.
- Cartman also constantly telling Dorn to address him as Captain.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- Cartman correctly points out that the others just repeatedly insulted him while recruiting him to save the calves, which makes the claim that they're friends in it together dubious.
- After the parents leave the door, Stan insists the first round is won. Cartman points out they've locked themselves in a room with no food and thus haven't won anything.
- Cartman tells Stan that he'll become a pussy if he doesn't eat meat. He's proven correct when Stan starts turning into a vagina as a result of not eating meat.
- Literal Ass-Kissing: Cartman only agrees to help if Kyle kisses his ass. Cartman farts at him and returns to sleep after that, causing Kyle to attack him.Kyle: Have Butters kiss it!
Cartman: No, it has to be Kyle. - "Mission: Impossible" Cable Drop: The boys use the "Mission: Impossible: Breaking and Entering Spy Kit" to get the baby cows from the ranch.
- My Little Panzer: The "Mission Impossible: Breaking and Entering Spy Kit" contains an actual torch to cut holes in roofs. The packaging does mention that the playset is not for actual breaking and entering.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: "Hero" is a massive stretch, but Cartman's decision to curl the calf he was carrying creates a trail that leads the rancher to Stan's house.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Michael Dorn's voice is Matt Stone.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: At the end of their ordeal, the boys still get grounded, not for trying to help the baby cows at all, but simply for disobeying their parents.
- Only Sane Man: Michael Dorn.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The fact that Kyle's willing to call Sheila a bitch goes to show he's really pissed off about the veal situation. He very quickly recoils when he realizes what he said, however.
- Pet the Dog: While Cartman doesn't care about the baby cows at first, he treats one like a pet later. Also, he shows concern for Stan when he gets sick. He also negotiates changing the word "veal" to "tortured baby cow" of his own volition.
- Precious Puppy: The news channel broadcasting the boys' protest decided this story wasn't interesting enough, so they decide to instead play live action footage of puppies from around the world.Butters: The Chinese puppy's my favorite so far.
- Pushover Parents: Unable to see Cartman suffer, Liane ends up giving the boys several weeks' worth of food, thus ruining the waiting game the other parents were playing.
- Real Men Eat Meat: According to Cartman: "If you don't eat meat, you become a pussy." Which literally happens to Stan; after not eating meat for a few days, he ended up with a disease that made small vaginas grow on his skin.
- Serious Business: Officer Barbrady points out that tricking the boys is dishonest. The FBI agent asks him if he is prepared to let fifty, maybe even sixty, people go without veal for dinner.
- Shout-Out: The way Butters says goodnight to the various baby cows is one to The Waltons.
- Space Whale Aesop: As Stan notes, "It's wrong to eat veal because the animals are so horribly mistreated, but if you don't eat meat at all you break out in vaginas."
- Tempting Fate: As the boys watch the news coverage on the calf hostage situation, Stan notes that if their cause is making the news, it must be important. The news then receives an update: it turns out it's a slow news day, and no one finds the crisis interesting.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: The kids are grounded for all this, but the parents say they can get some burgers on the way home.
- Toilet Humour: While the kids are determined to stay in their rooms no matter how long it takes, one of the calves urinates on the floor.
- What Measure Is a Non-Cute?: Surprisingly for a show built on pointing out such things, nobody ever makes the observation that the only reason the kids are trying to save the calves is because they're cuter than the adult cows, which none of them care about at all. Although perhaps the scene where they all agree to stop for burgers on the way home shows that none of the people involved consider adult cows to be worth caring about.
- With Friends Like These...: Stan and Kyle insist they're friends in it together, but they only seek Cartman's help to get his "Mission Impossible: Breaking and Entering Spy Kit" and insult him when he drags his feet. Cartman points this out, though he doesn't hold the moral high ground for much longer.
- Worst News Judgment Ever: Parodied. Right as Stan comments that the boys' terrorism be covered by the news validates their cause, the reporter explains the story is not interesting news to anyone. Nothing else was going on, so this was the only story he had to make seem important, but people are just simply tuning out. Later during the car chase, he notes it is still very uninteresting news.
- You Are Grounded!: Kyle is dismayed by the fact the boys are grounded even though they learned things and took up a cause.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: The boys (except for Stan) are annoyed that their cause attracted a group of hippies who came to show their support.
