Friday, February 3, 2012

Foie Gross

Foie gras
I consider myself to be an educated person generally. I am a pretty adventurous eater and I love food. Well I do not know how I made it this far in my life without knowing how foie gras is made. I know it as duck or goose liver which may not appeal to a lot of people. I'm very middle of the road when it comes to things generally, with a heavy lean to the liberal side. I do know about the horrible conditions that cattle and chicken are kept in by the companies that mass-produce meat. I am also informed about mass produced meat and the stress it puts on the environment. But I also think that while my family has cut back significantly on meat the last couple years for these reasons, that meat in moderation is ok if from the right sources. I'm not a card carrying PETA member but I care about the humane treatment of animals. Last night I watched a brief blurb on the ABC 7 news about a statewide ban on foie gras and was completely grossed out.

I had no idea that foie gras is the liver of a duck or goose that has been fattened by force-feeding. This is a cultural food originating in France, the words foie gras  translating into "fat liver." I took French in high school, apparently I was out the day they taught this! There is a foie gras farm here in California that is under fire in the news clip that I have included below. Three times a day a pound of corn is forced down the ducks' throat through a metal tube. Horrifying. And, this particular farm had many sick and dead birds, birds with livers so swollen they couldn't move and were getting eaten alive by rats.

How could you possibly ever want to eat this again after knowing how this is made? I'm not trying to change the cultural history of the French, but I do agree, in this day and age, a foie gras farm has no place in California.

11 comments:

  1. Yuk, yuk, yuk! I remember learning about foie gras from some billboards all around San Francisco years ago. I was horrified then and am glad to hear about the ban. I believe everything in moderation, except inhumane treatment of any living creature.

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    1. Definitely! I could not knowingly support terrible practices such as this!

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  2. the thing is rats on farms are not attacking other animals! This is gross and I am glad California is changing this! I would love to know how Foie gras was made years and years ago...so they don't have to force feed the poor things.
    I am so upset after this video I really think this isn't something that you really want to do for what a piece of fatty liver?? Gross. And it can't be healthy food... bad ju-ju if you ask me

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    1. I agree! I think even going back centuries, foie gras was always made by force-feeding the geese and ducks. I don't know the method they used though. Ugh. Yuck.

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  3. Oh that's gross. I've never eaten foie gras, nor would I like to now that you mentioned this. Innards freak me out in the first place. And ordering live seafood is a big no-no for me.

    Same story with shark's fin soup. They slice off the shark's fin and throw it back into the water. After I found out, I just couldn't eat it again.

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    1. I know, its so cruel how some of these so called delicacies are made. It's a horrible mistreatment of animals, and I definitely draw the line there!

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  4. I'm not surprised to see California take action, but i am surprised to see California chefs so openly defying it. It's sad when we have to take our pleasure from the pain of others, including force fed ducks. Really good share @Hungrigyrl!!!

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    1. Thanks Karen! I know how shocking that CA chefs would be so defiant. I can honestly say now that I am informed I will never eat foie gras again!

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  5. Living in France foie gras is a way of life. You can't go anywhere without running into it or see it a restaurant or someone's home. While I don't eat it because I don't enjoy it, I also think the way it is made is absolutely cruel.

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    1. I know, right? I have eaten it several times in my life, before I really knew how it was made. It's ok, but surely not worth doing this to geese and ducks. :( Again, I know its entrenched in the French culture and I would not expect foie gras to stop there...but hope awareness here in the states will make it less popular!

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  6. I am not an adventurous eater at all, but I've been paying more and more attention to what happens to the meat before it gets to me. The more I know, the more it turns me off of eating meat at all. My grandfather has a farm and raises his own cows. They're all grain fed and healthy -- at least I can see what happens to them there. Even then, I just feel so bad for the animals.

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