Foie Gras - Quit Your Bitchin’
Foie Gras - I know it’s not a grape varietal, but food goes hand in hand with wine. For those new to this term, Foie Gras is:
“The liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened by gavage.”
Sounds delicious right? Well for most folks it is, but animal rights activist are more upset with the method of feeding called ‘gavage.’ Any non Ivy league school person has probably never heard of this before. Simply explained it is force feeding:
“The practice of feeding a person or an animal against his, her or its will.”
I’ve enjoyed reading the rants and raves and I personally don’t mind a little force fed liver ever once in a while, it’s actually a delicacy. Especially with a nice class of Chianti. It’s a duck! Not a human, not even a dog (although I’ve never tasted the latter before.)
“According to the USDA, nearly 26 million ducks were eaten in the U.S. in 2004.”
So, who cares, if a small percentage of these were force fed… they will eventually be slaughtered and served up on a dish anyway. Animal activist must have alot of free time to complain about this practice.
Notable blogs / columns addressing this issue:
NY Times - Defying Law, a Foie Gras Feast in Chicago
ClassicWines.com - The Truth About Foie Gras
NY Restaurants - Does a Duck Have a Soul?
Dr. Vino - Goose Gitmo (visit of a foie gras farm)