Foie Gras - For or against???

I'm for it. I'll eat it at times at the few places i trust to prepare it well.

 

I can only state my opinion by showing my actions.

When a skunk gets in our garage and eats our dog food, I trap it and bring it under a tarp to a distant location.

When a skunk gets in our chicken coop I stop him with a .22.

If I see a deer eating our pears (not in season) I scare him away.

When I hunt deer, I make sure to never squander a shot, and never waste anything.
Same for duck, pheasant, any animal.

But I draw the line at raising animals in suffering, so I do not eat lamb, veal, or foie gras. Even though I have eaten them all before, and I love the taste of them all.

Please do not call me out, as I am currently appraising Tilapia, pork and other meats. If I could, I would harvest all the food for our family to ensure best practices, but it is impractical, so I choose how I can.

 

It was tried here in Chicago but failed.
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2008/05/foie-gras-ban-v.html

There are lots worse things people do to animals and one another than force feed livestock.
Edit; There are plenty of shatting and squaking Canada geese at the pond near my home I would glady see harvested.

 

I am no fan of foie gras, but we are getting absolutely ridiculous here. What's next - I can't step on a bug?

Give me a break - eat the gosh darn thing.

I totally respect people that choose not to eat animals forced into suffering. It's not something I enjoy seeing and try to put it out of my mind. Unfortunately, when a carnivore eats prey, it's usually not without suffering.

My issue with this comes down to choice. Once again, California Uber Alles and Big Brother tells you what you can / can't eat. I know this isn't a P&R discussion, but it might as well be.

 

I've seen videos of foie gras production where the birds were tied by the neck to a post & force fed in a manner that certainly looked like torture. I've seen videos of other producers where the process looks much more humane and the geese/ducks emulate kids at a beer chugging contest where they squawk and fight for more when they run out.

Me? I very much enjoy properly prepared foie gras and would hope it was sourced from foul that had been well treated.

 

I'm all for the taste. The only video I've seen of a duck being forcefed (think it was on a smallish farm in France) didn't seem to show an especially happy duck, but on the other hand it wasn't exactly freaking out either.

Like many things I'll defer to Anthony Bourdain, even if I don't 100% buy his "restaurant guys are all angels" claim or his "chickens have it worse" angle.
Foie is just too damned tasty.....

And damn you jm3 for making me google "lamb cruelty". Tail docking and castration is pretty harsh, but not enough to make me give up that tasty meet.
I will NOT eat whale or dog on moral grounds, and have seriously curtailed my beef and bluefin tuna intake due more to environmental reasons.

*from his interview in this month's Playboy. See baby I do read the articles!!!!

Playboy: Should foie gras be banned?
Bourdain: I'll say this on foie gras: I don't know of any chef who would buy the kin that is produced the way they show in those PETA films. No restaurant I know of would buy the product of a stressed-out, terrified, abused goose or duck. That equals bad foie gras. But it's a straw-man issue to start with, because every duck and goose raised for foie in this country, at least that I know of, lives a far more luxurious, happier, better life than any chicken ever killed for the Colonel or Popeye's, as the PETA people well know. They're picking on foie because it's French, it's expensive, most people haven't had it and it looks ugly in those scary films they show. It's a French thing, and you know those French....

 

Lots of good points here. I am a hipocrite. I love lamb and veal (had an awesome veal chop in Chicago last week!). Fois Gras, on the other hand I avoid. I have seen some troubling videos. I am sure there are similarly troubling videos of hamburger. As I said, I am a hipocrite.

 

Yea, Nicky and I don't eat veal or foie gras. Fortunately, I don't actually like foie gras (tried it when I didn't know what it was), so I'm not missing anything.

Having said that, there was a Gordon Ramsay programme over here in the UK where Janet Street-Porter raised veal in humane conditions. So there are perhaps instances where veal doesn't necessarily suffer to get onto your dinner plate - you just have to be diligent about the source. Same with lamb.

I'm in two minds about hunting, depending on the hunter's intentions by doing it. As an avid meat-eater, I think someday I would like to go hunting alongside an experienced hunter who could guide my while I hunt if the plan was to go out to obtain a meal and an integral part of the whole experience was cooking what you killed. However, I wouldn't do it or support it if the sole objective was just to make sport out of an animal's death and thus display one's manly fortitude.

I think if someone is going to end an animal's life it should be for a far greater purpose than just amusement - such as food or scientific research. If anyone wants to amuse themselves with firearms, then manufactured targets and clay pigeons are pretty fun for proving your accuracy.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Who is this now?
Sounds like the opposite of vegetarian's who hunt for sport.

BTW - environmentalists SHOULD be in favor of hog hunting and asian carp fishing.

 

Guess I've just never heard people specifically speak out against hunting, unless it's a fringe group that wants to outlaw ALL weapons.
Hunting, either with gun, bow, knife, or spear is a noble activity when the game is eaten. Or if the 'game' is a real nuisance due to overpopulation/ecological harm, like wild hogs (and deer I suppose if they're running out into roads, eating crops etc). Anybody complaining about hunters is indeed wacko, considering the hugely disproportionate number of animals slaughtered in captivity.

BTW I went shooting last weekend with a friend - my first time at sporting clays. Man that was fun! Hit 38 out of 50 in the first round of 9 stations - two of which were launching RIGHT into the sun, then 38 again on the second round. My shoulder was only a little sore the next day from blasting off 100 12ga shells

 

My current GF is a huge animal lover / animal rights supporter but LOVES Fois Gras. Caviar too.

Go figure.

 

There is a Travel TV spot that shows them feeding the geese through the funnel-tube thing, and it does not appear to be violent, painful, or harmful to them in any way.

The geese even looked as though they liked it.

The farm where they were being raised was absolutely immaculate and they were kept in perfect condition as well. I believe the location was France.

 

Foie Gras is excellent, and even better with a bottle of superb tasty white whine such as Montbazillac. Going to Europe for Christmas, will eat plenty other there.

This situation (ban ) is absolutely ridiculous.

Most animals for the Foie Gras are treated as best as possible. And if we go down this road, how many cows or poultry or animals that are not treated like human beings in our country (United States)? Let's stop eating! Ridiculous.

 

I agree with you. Sauternes are the best white wines in my opinion. This sugary taste is so great! I guess that whoever did not drink a Sauternes does not know what a real quality white wine tastes like. Try the Montbazillac too (I buy it when in Paris and bring bottles back with me to the United States).

Sel de Guerande

 

Uro has the solution.

Facts:

1. Foie gras is simply the fatty liver produced from force feeding geese.

2. Humans get fatty liver from excessive and prolonged alcohol intake.

Therefore,

Just let the geese drink beer and whisky, unless, of course, they are French Geese in which case they can have Burgundy.

 

Feeding geese a good Burgundy will make the Foie Gras even more expensive...

 

FG definitely a favorite. Even the jarred ones from France is good. No ban for me.
Will not be a happy camper.