The fight for Foie Gras

[cape chef]

So with everything going on in the world today,trying to ban foie gras is how the powers that be try to spend our tax $s. It's a sad commentary.Foie, then caviar, perhaps truffles? If i want to be tactile with foie gras, and my customers want to pay for it.....well.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/A...-Gras-Ban.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/23/us...go.html?ref=us

[chrose]

Maybe they should go back to calling it duck and goose liver and then who would care?
I have more intelligent things to say about it, but it's late and I gotta go ta bed!

[oldschool1982]

This all sounds like the beginning of a nightmare or a "Cocteau" like society from "Demolition Man" Edgar Friendly where are you when we need you? Hehehe

P.S. I still like the idea of the Foie Gras "Speak-easy".

[shroomgirl]

ummmm.....tactile with foie?

[phoebe]

Here's a link to a rant by Michael Ruhlman. And if you scroll further down, there's a reply from Bourdain. One point Ruhlman and others make is that if you want to see REAL animal cruelty, visit the mega-corporate chicken "farms."

http://www.megnut.com/2006/07/its-a-wonderful-life

[chrose]

That was great, and so was Tony's reply! Thanks for the link.

[shroomgirl]

Good read Phoebe....thanks for the link.

[cape chef]

Thanks Emily...Great read.

[Pete]

Loved both the article and the response by Bourdain!! Thanks for the reading!!

BTW, has anyone else taken the time out, besides myself, to email all the city aldermen, in Chicago, and let them know what you think of their mindless decision? If not, I encourage you all to do so. I want their emails so full of this that they can't get anything else done. Hey, if you're going to waste taxpayers money then really waste it!!

[Mannlicher]

and just wait. Crab and lobster will be next on the ban list.

as for Bourdain's thoughts. well.............. phtt

[Entropy]

Foie gras forever!!! Yeah, it doesn't really make sense to me to ban foie when they should be focusing on other issues. If a person thinks that cruelty is being done to the birds being forcefed, then they don't have to buy it. But that same person should really stop eating all meats and not wear any animal product or....well, the list can go on and on.

[Bruklor]

What a lucky duck.

If you want to stuff food down my neck, and not let me move all day, go right ahead.

[HotChef]

if it means to FORCE FEED geese and ducks and than eat their SICK liver ( we all know that it is so...) it should stop.
but so also should be calves penned up, chickens in their wire cages. and many other things.
where do you draw a line? i suppose we chefs could and should use our influence and try to EDUCATE if our guests want to be educated...

[piracer]

well, from what ive learnt so far, the force feeding process isnt as bad as it seems to be to us humans, the thing with the zero gag relfex and the fact that we are expoliting their natural instincts of gorging themselves before migrating.

personally i dont see the livers as sick, just fattened, the geese and ducks dont get obese or anything (just doesnt happen with the species) and i guess its just like any fattened animal.

Still, battery farm chicken and such is much worst i believe, and i would much rather be a foie gras geese/duck then a KFC chicken

[HotChef]

for sure you must have been reading ads paid for by Rougie or any other of these companies that do foie gras.
Any (flying) animal that migrates, they eat to put on meat and muscle for the long flight duration a big liver for sure does NOT help...
any other animal that hibernates (bears, beaver, etc) the also gorge themselves but again they put on a subcutean fat layer to take them over 6 month hibernation.
any liver of any animal (human or not...) is brown in color, with a variation of shades..
the gooseliver is yellowish because the animal has jaundice and that makes the 'yellow' liver.
and a natural goose / duck liver weights no more than 100-200 gr not the 1/2 kgr that a foie gras weights.
indeed it does not make the KFC any better or worse, neither does the cramping together of the Norwegian salmon in pens where they feed them carotin to make the flesh nice and rose, antibiotics to keep them from getting sick and god knows what kind of sh**t they put into these pellets.The same stuff that gave the cows the 'mad cow disease'?