Foie Gras
On another post, two comments expressed the opinion that foie gras should not be served because the ducks are not treated humanely, and that foie gras is an easy out for chefs who want to serve a “sophisticated” meal. I asked whether the same should be said about chicken, pigs and cows that are raised in confinement and dosed with hormones and antibiotics.
I’m hesitant to start this thread for fear it will get out of hand, but let’s see if we can discuss it intelligently. The floor is open.
Photo Caption:
http://www.nofoiegras.org/
Start here for foie gras.
From a previous post:
For cows, look for grass fed organic beef. The cows roam about as they wish, and since they eat only grass, the amount of energy needed to bring one to harvest (slaughter) is greatly minimized. As far as chickens, it’s best to support farms who practice both organic and free-range style productions. I don’t eat pig myself, but for any pork products, again, look for organically raised, small farm type.
We need to wake up to our eating habits. The solution is about education.
http://www.themeatrix.com/
One of the problems is the language on packaging. Grass-fed doesn’t mean “grass-finished.” Free-range only means chickens have to have access to the outdoors, and that might be through a trap door to a tiny cage.
I agree with James, everyone should know where their food comes from  even visiting the farm if possible. But it’s also not always practical or affordable.
Well since the invention of the internet, you can now do research without traveling.
Look at http://www.homesteadhealthyfoods.com/
Or Pineland Farms.
I love duck. and cold weather is best time to eat em.
duck season.. no wabbit season… duck season… um how bout duck with a side of wabbit?
i make a mean coniglio Cacciatore …
I visited the nofoiegras website. I’m open minded, want to know the facts before making a decision. Honestly, it was upsetting. Is it possible to put a sentence or two about how it can be a little graphic with photos and details? So people can know what to expect before heading over to the website.
It’s supposed to be upsetting. That’s why we should not eat foie gras. I know you wanted a few sentences, but sometimes, pictures tell a much better story.
I think if people would see where their food comes from (if not eating organic, etc.) they would be shocked. Our society has such a disconnect with food.
Wow. That No Foie Gras site is pretty grim and upsetting. Glad I don’t like the stuff anyway.
I dont think food should be treated cruelly. But then again what i dont know is best for me. just think what is done to the poor vegetables. growing all nice with its family and friends then this fingers of death come along and yank em from their home. its horrid! we dont no where for carry carrot and her 10 children went we just know they were taken by the “visitors”.
Everything on this is planet is food. we are food too. Yes the poor ducks and cows shouldnt be mistreated,I definitely agree, but once slaughtered, not to eat it would be the bigger sin. so while its available I will eat it. I am not a hunter but i know if i needed food badly i wouldnt think twice. What the site should help do is increase stricter guidelines on the proper treatment of the soon to be meal.
steps off soap box
Most people love a juicy steak, but they would never want to see the unthinkable cruelty that goes on inside a slaughter house.
Foie Gras get a lot of attention because it is the perfect example of so-called decadence- The process involves confining geese to live in their own feces while having a tube of fattening feed continuously pumped down their throats and into their stomachs until they die. Oh, how glamourous. The result is you chowing down on their fattened, fattening, diseased liver.
The thing is, Liz, people are concerned with the treatment of factory farm animals. Maybe not everyone, but vegetarians and vegans like me, or anyone who is interested and has watched footage from factory farms, slaughter houses, etc, knows all too well the pain and suffering these animals go through. They feel fear and emotions. They feel pain.
In slaughterhouses, when living cows ride the conveyor belt to death (where at the end they are met with a steel bolt to the brain), they have to ride in sight of each other, because if they are alone they will panic and go wild. So, the next time someone says that cows are dumb and don’t know any better think of that.
Veal: cows are continually artificially inseminated to give birth over and over so they constantly supply milk for the dairy industry. The newborn calves are stuffed into tiny boxes so they can’t move and develope muscle, hence the texture of veal.
Pigs are typically scolded alive in boiling water. And beaten viciously when they try desperately to get out of the water.
So called “free range” is a clever way of packaging. If it’s on your plate, there was a fence. Unless you get meat, dairy, or eggs from your neighborhood farm, you don’t know how that animal was treated.
And, don’t forget, all the junk- hormones (to produce more milk and develope larger animals), antibiotics (for the constant infections from living in deplorable conditions), pesticides (from the feed)- that are given to the animals go into your body!
If anyone is interested in learning about factory farming, here is a link to Farm Sanctuary. Don’t worry, horrible visuals won’t pop up:
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/
If anyone read this- thank you.
Kris: well said. I hope a lot of people read your post.
I think the Fois gras site is awful, what is being done to those birds is awful. While it is not practical to inspect every morsel one is eating, giving up the fight for a saner, excessive hormone free world is not the solution either.
I think we should push for organic produce and humane conditions for raising and farming livestock. If enough people care, it will make a difference. I think supermarkets generally try to label things better I agree some of it is fancy marketing, but some of it is actually better practice.
While I agree that “factory farms” are indeed someplace I would avoid getting meat from altogether, there are some things in Kris’ post that don’t seem to be based in reality.
It is my understanding that causing animals to suffer during the slaughtering process is actually a detriment to the finished product. While I don’t doubt that there are some terrible things going on in the meat industry, this type of sensationalism does’nt help the “cause”. And by the way I am still not convinced that cows are’nt dumb.
Foie gras has come under fire for the methods with which the animals are raised. As far as I know (I should mention at this point that I am a professional chef) there are two foie gras farms in the US. The one I purchase foie gras from is in the Hudson Valley, and as of 2001 the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park would regularly take students there for a tour. This is not something that tells me that there are things happening at the farm that the owners need to hide.
I have gone to great lengths in my restaurant (to a certain degree of financial sacrifice I might add) to source food from purveyors who practice responsible farming techniques and animal husbandry. I personally know the woman who raises my veal, lamb, and pork and I can assure you that the slaughter house she uses does not scald and beat pigs.
When animal rights activists, vegetarians or vegans constantly point to the worst examples of these things it destroys their credibility. In most rational peoples eyes they get written off as hysterical extremists with personal views that they feel the need to push on other people. (sounds eerily familiar)
I have seen the foie gras site. Are those pictures taken on US soil? I seriously doubt it, but it seems like a good way to get donations and sell Faux Gras.
I serve foie gras because my customers request it. I will stop serving it if I find out that Hudson Valley Foie Gras Farm (who I use exclusively) looks anything like the pictures on that site.
enough of this yada-yada-feel-good-plastic-fantastic-drivel…how do veggies feel when pulled from the safety of their beds only to be cut, drowned in oil, seasoned, and roasted? and, anyone who is interested and has watched footage from farms, and storage buildings, etc, knows all too well the pain and suffering these plants go through, they feel pain – have you noticed farmers never harvest just one carrot but bunches of them – because if left alone they will panic and quickly go to seed, same for apples – always picked in large numbers, but instead of going to seed they quickly turn mealy, fit not even for juice for our children – and “organic” is just another clever marketing scheme, if its on your table – there was pain, panic and confinement
rinku – double minor penalty – two minutes for too many ‘awfuls’ in one sentence – and two minutes because it was the first sentence!
I know what foi gras is and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Furthermore I have been to places like France and have been to tours of the foi gras farms. They are treated much better than you think and better than US chickens and turkeys. I had a personal tour and the ducks are dumb they eat what they want until the last month where they do feed by tube but I witnessed it in person and the ducks are not unhappy at all. They are like goldfish in that they love to eat and yes their liver is expanded but they are not treated badly. At least the farms I have seen in France. I commented to him that he could sell more as he had room but he replied,” I am happy with my fixed amount I do every year and when they sell out they gone”. Maybe US duck farms with our capitalistic tendencies over cram the ducks per square feet and that should be changed, but to outlaw them is NOT right!
Foi gras should be available to anyone whom wants to eat it. The ducks if treated like the farms I visited in France are not treated in humanly. I feel we should make every efforts in making sure all duck farms treat their ducks correctly but not ban them at all! The ducks I witnessed are treated like royalty and only their last month do they get fed twice a day with a tube and believe me they are not suffering.
I will make every effort to educate people that foi gras is a great food and that the ducks are not treated badly! I think ignorant people are taking it to the extreme and should be ashamed at your tactics and misrepresentation of foi gras!