Bourdain Fights for His Right to Foie Gras
December 17, 2007 by Tracey Thompson
Filed under Recipes
Some of you are probably in-the-know about the whole controversy surrounding Foie Gras. If you don’t know what Foie Gras is or why these two simple words would pit chef and foodies against each other than hear is the scoop.
Foie Gras is a food that most of us have never eaten. Reason…it is so damn expensive. For those of us in the “real” world foie gras ranks up there with a $500 bottle of Scotch and truffles. A good pound of quality Foie Gras would put you back about $145 or more.
Foie Gras is a fattened up duck liver. The controversy is in the production. Ducks are forced fed through a tube several times a day for a few weeks before they are taken to slaughter (I think that is probably the main issue for some of these guys). The amount and type of feed the ducks are given fatten up the liver and enlarge it several times more than it is naturally. Animal rights activists say that the condition is painful for the ducks and that the force feeding is cruel. Foodies and others in the food industry say that this is about a misguided, uninformed group of people attempting to control what they eat.
So, who is right? I have absolutely no idea. There are several chefs, including Wolfgang Puck along with states and cities that are outlawing the production or sale of foie gras. Anthony Bourdain has been a major of critic of this crew. On his recent No Reservations “Christmas Special” he visited a Foie Gras farm and spoke to a veterinarian. The vet said that this has become mass hysteria over a something that most people are poorly educated on. Ducks are not under stress nor does the condition hurt them and that the force feeding is not painful. Humans are attempting to adopt our own physiology in explaining something that is biologically worlds away from the truth.
Bourdain was very entertaining in his attempt to educate the general public, but I do think that the main goal was probably to just t-off vegans. The comments over on The Village Voice are very entertaining. They cover everything from animal cruelty, class-ism, worker’s rights and illegal immigrants. I start to question people’s motivation when they can’t stick to the main premise of the argument.
I am still on the fence in regards to this one. One thing bad about fringe groups is that I tend not to take much of what they say to heart. I mean, let’s face it, PETA not only dislikes the production practices of Foie Gras, but would rather not see those ducks go to slaughter, period. And Wolfgang Puck? Is he just riding a fad or is he earnest in his belief.
Politics and your food, is this really a good mix? The government is starting to intervene and stop Foie Gras production, but chickens are still shoved in small pins for the mass market. Is this about being able to target Foie Gras because it serves such a small niche of people so city and state governments can gain brownie points for the action? When it comes down to it will they tow-the-line the whole way? Or are we talking about mass hysteria and Big Brother sticking it to you?
i think this is mostly about a lot of people who mean well, but heard one thing “Foie Gras hurts duckies!” and decided it was bad without doing any research. It’s like this older man i know who reads newspaper headlines, thinks he gets the jist of them, and starts telling people about them, including his own botched-up statistics, without actually knowing his “knowledge”.
i could care less about overpriced liver, as i am kind of grossed out by the idea of it, but if Tony Bourdain wants it, he should have it!
I somehow balance my love of animals and wish for them not to be hurt with my love of foie gras. I try not to think about the duckies being fed that way just as I try not to think about chickens being squished together in trucks, etc. Ignorance is bliss.
As for the cost, it’s so rich and decadently creamy that you only need a tiny bit–nowhere near a pound.