is that really necessary?
California Chefs Fight Ban On Foie Gras
I'm not saying that I support the original method of force feeding ducks and geese
but isn't there some sort of humane alternative?
Celebrity Chef Wolfgang Puck has famously supported the ban on foie gras since its inception, while television chef, author, and world traveler Anthony Bourdain believes there are alternatives to the way the dish is procured. Bourdain, who visited the Hudson Valley Foie Gras farm on an episode of his show "No Reservations," has said "Every duck for foie gras that I know at Hudson Valley, for instance — and I've been there, I've walked freely everywhere, all around. When the ducks come at you when a human enters the barn, if all the ducks in the place move towards you, that is an indication that their experience with humans, it's not awful...A distressed, unhappy animal is bad food...inarguably that kind of suffering and stress leads directly to the quality of food that we don't want."
In the soon to be demise of this delicious dish, a group of local chefs have preparred special menus last month as their last hurrah for foie.
From LA Weekly
California Chefs Host Foie Gras Super Dinner
In protest of California's rapidly approaching foie gras ban, C.H.E.F.S. (the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards), an organization that sounds like a maniacal conglomerate out of a James Bond film, or perhaps a culinary-slanted take on the Avengers, announced yesterday that it will be undertaking a massive four-restaurants-in-one-night series of dinners loaded with 23 star chefs -- enough toque power to be worthy of big-screen adaptation. Melisse, the Royce at the Langham, Lemon Moon and Animal will host simultaneous dinners on May 14, with each assembling a team of guest chefs from all across California.
These special dinners will continue through this month and I hope to be able to enjoy one.
If not...I will just have another reason to start planning a trip to France.
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6 comments:
I'm not a fan of foie gras, but from what I've read it can be humanely produced. The ban seems like overkill, especially considering some of the conditions that other farm animals still endure.
The ban is ridiculous, since the same animals in the wild will swallow whole a whole fish, when they can get one. They eat that way naturally. This is the anthropomorphism of animals.
Pseu, I agree that animals that are well taken care of will make healthier food to consume so I would like to see some sort of more humane feeding practices.
Anon, while I've never seen a goose or a duck swallow a whole fish, I do agreet that we are overwhelmed with anthropomorphism of animals.
Isn't it great to see how our state government is working so hard to fix the $16B shortfall?
I feel like I have been living under a rock, I had no idea the State banned foie gras. It seems like a heavy-handed approach to the problem, but then, I'm not the duck. (Shakes her head in surprise.)
Belle, you know I live in the heartland of THE Foie Gras producing area, I am not a fan of Foie Gras, way too rich and sweet for my taste and yes like so many other farming practices the production is very cruel, I have been round the farms and seen it for myself. However these animals are bred and reared purely for Foie Gras production and in rural France a lot of livelihoods depend on it. I wish they could produce it without the cruelty but it would be hard to convince the French who are proud of their traditional methods and don't like change! Banning it in California does seem a little ridiculous.
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