The great Foie Gras controversy
(Published on 05 June 2007 in 'Women at Work' - W @ W - a supplement of the Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka)
This is the fiftieth publication of the Miss Know-All column – and I don’t seem to tire from spreading awareness and enlightening the ignorant. There is so much to write about and so little awareness. My task has been chalked out for years to come. You’ll keep hearing from me pretties… keep reading and keep getting wiser!
I had written earlier about the much overrated caviar and how I did not care much for it. But this article is about ‘pate de foie gras’ – something dear to my heart or should I say to my taste buds. But like all other things – wherever I go controversy seems to follow. So – this write up is about the great Foie Gras controversy.
Though the name sounds impressive and fancy, foie gras is poultry liver. It is a French word meaning ‘fat liver’. It took us Asians time to learn how to pronounce it… leave alone eat it. (pronunciation - fwä grä) Once considered a luxury food item, foie gras has become the subject of a global campaign as animal rights activists claim that the manner in which foie gras is produced is cruel to animals. To understand this allegation a bit of explaining is required.
Foie Gras can only be produced by migratory birds as only these birds develop livers that are exceptionally fatty in texture. This is because when a bird migrates, it flies several hundred miles before stopping for food. It sustains itself through the long flight by stuffing itself before setting out on its journey. This extra food supply is stored in the liver in the form of fat. As a result, the liver increases in size from four ounces to a pound and a half.
The ancient Romans were the first to discover that to acquire fatty livers they needed to hunt migratory birds when they were actually migrating. Later, as an alternate they fattened the birds even when they were not migrating – by feeding them with grain. When the livers expanded as a result of overeating, the birds were slaughtered. The French in turn discovered that it was goose that was the ideal bird for foie gras. Geese were fed with corn and then killed once their livers were ready. Interestingly poultry farmers in other parts of Europe opted to breed ducks instead of geese.
After the 1970’s farmers started breeding the Moulard duck for foie gras. A funnel is inserted into the fowl’s mouth and grain is then poured down its gullet. The fact that the birds are force fed in this way till their livers fatten up did not ‘go down’ too well with the animal rights activists and they stepped in to cry ‘FOUL’! The animal rights lobby argues that this kind of force feeding causes the birds livers to get diseased. Foie Gras farmers do not agree as they feel the condition is not a disease but similar to what happens when the birds migrate. The activists retaliate by saying that keeping birds in custody and force feeding them in an unnatural way amounts to torture.
The debate continues even as Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a ban on foie gras in California. The ban will come into effect in 2012. The city of Chicago has banned the sale of foie gras as well. There is also a growing demand for a total ban all across America.
As for me… well, killing any animal for its meat is sin enough. Then why all this brouhaha over a fattened liver?
Miss Know-All
miss.know.all@gmail.com
This is the fiftieth publication of the Miss Know-All column – and I don’t seem to tire from spreading awareness and enlightening the ignorant. There is so much to write about and so little awareness. My task has been chalked out for years to come. You’ll keep hearing from me pretties… keep reading and keep getting wiser!
I had written earlier about the much overrated caviar and how I did not care much for it. But this article is about ‘pate de foie gras’ – something dear to my heart or should I say to my taste buds. But like all other things – wherever I go controversy seems to follow. So – this write up is about the great Foie Gras controversy.
Though the name sounds impressive and fancy, foie gras is poultry liver. It is a French word meaning ‘fat liver’. It took us Asians time to learn how to pronounce it… leave alone eat it. (pronunciation - fwä grä) Once considered a luxury food item, foie gras has become the subject of a global campaign as animal rights activists claim that the manner in which foie gras is produced is cruel to animals. To understand this allegation a bit of explaining is required.
Foie Gras can only be produced by migratory birds as only these birds develop livers that are exceptionally fatty in texture. This is because when a bird migrates, it flies several hundred miles before stopping for food. It sustains itself through the long flight by stuffing itself before setting out on its journey. This extra food supply is stored in the liver in the form of fat. As a result, the liver increases in size from four ounces to a pound and a half.
The ancient Romans were the first to discover that to acquire fatty livers they needed to hunt migratory birds when they were actually migrating. Later, as an alternate they fattened the birds even when they were not migrating – by feeding them with grain. When the livers expanded as a result of overeating, the birds were slaughtered. The French in turn discovered that it was goose that was the ideal bird for foie gras. Geese were fed with corn and then killed once their livers were ready. Interestingly poultry farmers in other parts of Europe opted to breed ducks instead of geese.
After the 1970’s farmers started breeding the Moulard duck for foie gras. A funnel is inserted into the fowl’s mouth and grain is then poured down its gullet. The fact that the birds are force fed in this way till their livers fatten up did not ‘go down’ too well with the animal rights activists and they stepped in to cry ‘FOUL’! The animal rights lobby argues that this kind of force feeding causes the birds livers to get diseased. Foie Gras farmers do not agree as they feel the condition is not a disease but similar to what happens when the birds migrate. The activists retaliate by saying that keeping birds in custody and force feeding them in an unnatural way amounts to torture.
The debate continues even as Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a ban on foie gras in California. The ban will come into effect in 2012. The city of Chicago has banned the sale of foie gras as well. There is also a growing demand for a total ban all across America.
As for me… well, killing any animal for its meat is sin enough. Then why all this brouhaha over a fattened liver?
Miss Know-All
miss.know.all@gmail.com
Labels: Foie Gras, Miss Know All, Sangeeta Rana
posted by Sangeeta Rana @ 11:30 PM
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