Wife Tries To Abort And Poison Husband's Lovechild
Man Injured By Tree Limb Files Suit Against City
Charles Barron Will Run For Council Speaker
Alleged Tiger Mistress Is Unrecognizable To Dead Fiancee's Dad
New Jersey State Senate To Vote On Gay Marriage
People are all in a fuss about the foie gras. Sure, some people love it, even celebrate it, but others aren't so enamoured of this gourmet delicacy. In fact, there is legislation in the works at the state Assembly which would ban foie gras production. New York Metro recently focused on the fight between duck-loving activists and duck liver lovers.
Given all the hoopla about foie gras lately, we'd love to know your opinion on the matter. And for the record, our favorite foie gras dish in the city was the terrine of foie gras we had at Per Se, infused with ribbons of truffle. Let the flaming begin.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
I'm with the foi gras protestors. Taste is awful which is good enough reason to ban it. I also had ducks growing up, so I'm generally pro-duck.
Flaming? Why, just because it's Pride Week?
Ducks are cool. They have webbed feet.
Foie Gras rules.
Somebody's obviously never heard of the food chain!
Foie Gras & Chicken Liver Mousse at Pastis. (drool)
Hey HR,
Just cuz you like to forcefeed yourself with fattening crap doesn't mean I have to be.
Most fans of foie gras have no idea how it's made. Then there's the other detail about not caring. I'm not a vegetarian, but there are plenty of ways to get your tastebud kicks without force-feeding a duck for 4 months until you get a 3 lb. liver.
I agree w/Deckard. I'm a big time meat eater but foie gas and veal are where I draw the line...
Totally agree. There's a difference between killing to eat and unwarranted cruelty for a "luxury" item that's gonna be flushed down the toilet bowl in a few hours anyway.
And what's this "they don't have a soul" crap? Neither Saddam or Dubya have souls either, should we torture them? (On second thought, don't answer that...)
I'm a hypocrite: I hate killing animals [to eat them], but I don't know if I can survive being a vegetarian. Tried it off and on for the past 15 years. If good soy proteins were more prevalent (in other words protein options) I'd switch back in a heartbeat. Now at least I try to make an effort to not eat meat/animals that are knowingly treated poorly. But it's still no excuse. Foie gras, although arguably tasty, is just wrong. And it's great irony for those who indulge that their arteries will eventually clog up, but that's after sacrificing countless innocent ducks. Quack quack.
Glad all you fellers agree.
Foie Gras aint all it's quacked up to be.
Woo-Hoo!
i love foie gras! course i feel sad for the ducks but no more sad than all those poor mass-raised chickens smushed up against each other, fattened and shot up the wazoo (for more breast meat) so much that they cannot walk.
further, i am really impressed with how hudson valley uses/sells every part of the duck, so it's not like they were wasted solely for the fattened livers.
i'm willing to risk high cholestorol and heart attacks for foie gras anyday. yummy.
I'm in agreement with the majority. I see a huge difference between choosing to eat meat and benefiting from the suffering of a helpless animal, regardless of how good it tastes and whether or not we're at the "top of the food chain." And frankly, just because something tastes good and it's served at Per Se doesn't mean you should be eating it.
seared foie gras is the food I would choose as my last meal on earth. i have a friend who has been raising foie gras ducks her whole life (as a child on a farm in france, and now in the hudson valley). for those of you concerned with these ducks' well-being, you should know that everyday the ducks coming running to her to be overfed. yes we are exploiting their natural proclivity towards obesity, but they can't wait to be exploited. there are all kinds of valiant fights to be made in the protection of animals; this isn't one of them.
Per Se also serves a gorgeous vegetarian meal.
Charlie Trotter won't serve foie gras in his restaurants -- although I seem to recall he ran into some accusations of hypocrisy when he prepared it for some kind of chefs' dinner (not at his restaurant). He also does a lovely vegetarian dinner, and co-authored a book on raw food.
fuck the food chain argument. as moral beings that can survive without causing harm to sentient organisms, why do it?
i'm a vegan and a frequent PETA supporter, and i've done my share of anti-foie gras leafletting. foie gras is a disgusting practice, and it's important that you do your research to find out what exactly goes on in the farms, even if there are the subjective and biased stories of "ducks coming running to...be overfed."
and to those people on the fence worried about "getting enough protein" or whatever, just go to any supermarket these days to see all the fake meat products available that have comparable (and healthier) amounts of protein. or visit red bamboo at west 4th street between washington square park and 6th avenue. after trying the soul chicken sandwich, tell me you can't go veg.
The question of how mean it is to the ducks is, frankly, irrelevant. After all, as was noted above, battery hens don't exactly enjoy themselves either.
If you think it's morally reprehensible, then your solution should be to win the public over to your view so that they voluntarily boycott foie gras. Legislating morality is a slippery slope and includes a lot of issues on which you probably feel strongly against the 'moral' position (eg. Abortion, gay marriage, and school prayer).
How about we just tolerate each other's foibles as long as no people are harmed?
I know that the current political climate demands absolutes, but I don't believe that my dislike of foie gras or veal practices make it so that I have to give up all meat. Sorry. Put another way: I'm against embezzlement but have, and will again, used pens, staples, and post-it notes from the office for personal use.
timThompson, "how about we just tolerate each other's foibles as long as no people are harmed" is speciesist.
there are other creatures on the earth that feel pain just like humans. the fact that we are able to capture nonhuman animals and engineer them to produce flesh for us to eat doesn't make it appropriate or respectable.
I love Red Bamboo! My girlfriend's a vegetarian, so we go there regularly. The point is, these types of restaurants aren't as abundant as I wish they'd be. Believe me - I see how my girlfriend struggles in always trying to find something decent to eat (other than a simple "mixed vegetable" plate) when we go out or even eat in. It requires extra effort (and $) no doubt. By the way, Dante's Cuisine is my favorite!
dirt:
yes, being vegan or vegetarian requires more effort, but that's just because it's still somewhat of an oddity in our culture. the more it catches on, the more it will be easily sustainable. it only costs more than an omnivorous diet when you focus entirely on meat-replacement products (p.s. boca's chik'n products are recently entirely vegan!). a wholesome vegan diet with plenty of grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts is really not that expensive.
and dante's cuisine is great!
when the ducks figure out a way to pen me up and force-feed me so my liver becomes unctuous and delicious, then i will stop supporting foie gras farmers who do this to ducks. until then, i'll take the foie gras shabu-shabu at masa.
Sumfrequency: Does this "physical supremacy" argument apply to everything, or just you and ducks?
I've been a vegetarian for about a decade, and I think foie gras is disgusting in both the viceral (taste, smell & appearance) and intelectual sense. That said, I'm an evolutionary snob, and I think we should start by banning the eating of mammals. Cows are thereabouts as smart as my cat, and no one is about to start eating cats. That said, it will never happen because veal is a by product of dairy production. Only females give milk (last I checked) so all the male calves are killed - some live long enough to be veal - others become byproduct. Think about that next time you have a frosty milkshake... I know I do.
Thanks for having my back, kiddos! It's rabbit season, not duck season!
I say BOO to the foie gras. Come on now people.
oh and I love Dante's cuisine too. I love the corny mashed potatoes there!
Adam> I completely agree! Just admitting that at the moment I'm not putting the effort in to be a vegetarian. This will change in the future I think. It's a weakness for sure.
By the way, I think (hope) humans will EVOLVE away from this "speciesism" that in other words says >. In my opinion we're not; we kill each other more, destroy our environment, etc. There's no sense of harmony; at least in most cultures. We may be "intelligent" enough to develop a computer chip, but somehow this "intelligence" seems to fade when we drain our planet of essential resources.
To play devil's advocate though, animals kill each other so...
dirt:
other animals kill each other because they have to to survive! but we (1) have evolved so as not to have to eat other animals to survive and (2) have developed an extraordinary sense of self-awareness and morality. so why cause harm?
let's do away with speciesism since we're apparently so smart.
Oops - my post was cut off. Basically wanted to say humans find themselves so "superior" to other life forms. See, here's an example of inferiority.
But why can't these other animals survive on plants/vegetables/fruits/grains, etc. Mother nature is a cruel mistress, ain't she?
well there's no real point to ask "why" other animals have to eat animals. the point is we are aware of what it means to take a life, and we can forego it, so let's stop it.
Ed. Note: This is one of those instances where the royal "we" here at Gothamist does not accurately reflect the opinion of the individual members of the Gothamist staff, whose personal opinions on the matter vary.
Kind of odd that you think you can get people to stop killing duckies--when you can't even get people to stop killing people!
FGIP: There is a law -- there are many laws -- against people killing each other. Some folks would like there to be a law against the forced-feeding of ducks/geese. Few would argue, I think, that the laws against murder do not hugely limit the numbers of murders committed. In the same vein, I doubt anyone is so naive as to think that there won't be some kind of miniscule underground foie gras production here if the law is passed, but would said law reduce the numbers of ducks subjected to forced feeding? Certainly.
Wow, I am really surprised by the PETA loving, vegetarian leaning, tree hugging idiots there are reading Gothamist. For some reason I expected slightly more intellectual and slightly less knee jerk reactionism. Firstly, there is no evidence to show that the ducks dislike the feeding any more than they dislike the fact that they ARE ALREADY IMPRISONED AND SENTENCED TO DEATH. they have no gag reflex and simply being fed often is rarely something any member of the animal kingdom dilikes. Get over yourselves guys. We eat all kinds of animals and we breed them to die. Its not about souls or feelings or anything like that. I enjoy eating foie gras, and I should be allowed to eat it or make it if I want. Last time I checked livestock was livestock and I was in charge. Dont even get me started on those wackjobs at PETA. They strive for total animal liberation. They are anti-pets! Freaks if you ask me, now if you will excuse me, I have a baby seal to club and some blubber to suck out of its eyeballs.
Tim:
force-feeding of ducks and geese for foie gras isn't simply a matter of a "gag reflex." their livers swell to ten times their normal size, causing pain and disease.
"we eat all kinds of animals and we breed them to die." yes, this is an extreme civil rights infringement. we also kept slaves at one point. i know it's a trite argument, but it's still applicable.
"it's not about souls or feelings or anything like that." you're right. i'm an atheist who doesn't believe in souls, and we're not sure to what extent nonhuman animals have feelings. but it's about the right to life. you have a desire to live? so do they.
"last time i checked livestock was livestock and i was in charge." some kind of freudian complex, have you?
I we can all agree Tim's one of the idiots we sight in our examples. His rationale "intelligence means meat eating" is hilarious. Sure ducks are imprisoned; when on a farm. But what about when in the wild? We can all savor the fact that since Tim enjoys eating fatty duck organs that he is killing himself. How "intellectual"!
P.S. What a tough boy you are! Killing innocent, largely defenseless baby seals! Truth is, you're weak and I'd love to see you suffering in agony. Can I club your empty head? Please?
I know the process of getting foi Gras is cruel and disgusting and I have stop eating it. BUT! It is extremely good. People who are saying it doesn't taste good have not tried good foi gras.
Besides, a gag reflex is rather beside the point with a metal pipe shoved down your throat, don't you think?
vegans are annoying. end of story.
we should force-feed the vegans and eat them instead. mighty tasty with BBQ sauce!
foi gras is gross.
but so is tofurkey. so there's a line there, somewhere...but where?
NEED CLARIFICATION--I always thought foie gras was a pate of GOOSE liver, not duck. Although it probably doesn't make much difference, given the circumstances of its production.
foie gras is gross.
tofurky is gross.
foie gras is produced by taking away a life. tofurky isn't.
why is the decision so hard?
vegans are annoying? so were the early abolitionists. and the nazis thought jewish sympathizers in the reich were annoying, too. sheesh, is it that hard to understand?
I like to eat baby seal meat, but in order to get the maximum amount of flavor, not only must the seal be particularly cute, it has to be beaten with a large blunt object while its alive for about 10 minutes, then slice it open to harvest the tasty tender meat, while its still breathing!
So if I like to eat cute little Baby Seals, does this make me a bad person?
Look, folks. I adore foie gras. I agree with some others that it would def. be included on the last meal of my life menu. I have also long known and been impressed by the professionalism of Ariane Daguin and her firm, D'Artagnan. This being said, a lot of you come off a little...er...um...spoiled. The only requirements a human needs to exist is water, air and glucose. The rest is a matter of the delivery system of that glucose...and how tasty we choose to make it. Can a human go a whole happy healthy lifetime having never eaten foie gras? Yup. Is it our god-given right to eat it?
I guess, cause we is bigger and stronger than the duck. Does that make is OK? Hmmmmmm. Here's the thing: I have long since eschewed veal for compassionate reasons. Do I love osso buco? Oh yes. Do I slip sometimes? Yes. But the principle is that the way they "harvest" veal is downright wrong. Worse than most. I know that Purdue does stuff to their chickens that I'd rather not think about. I've read my Upton Sinclair and yet still allow a little london broil in my life. But even I have a line, and I guess it has to do with *extreme* cruelty. Unscrupulous duck (and goose) farmers do this to ducks to keep up with DEMAND, people!
Less demand? Less of a rush to stuff and kill.
Need an suggestion? I have a lovely pate recipe using chicken livers, sherry and cream that will work like methadone for those going through foie gras withdrawl. Trust me, it will supply a similar assault on your arteries with less guilt.
It's a great idea to devote resources and legislative time to animal welfare once every single human's welfare has been safeguarded. Until poverty, homelessness and hunger have been eradicated, I'm afraid the ducks and the calves will have to wait.
Everyone with fire in their bellies and poster-making skills can re-direct their efforts to human causes in the meantime too.
What's with all the moral (or dietary in this case) absolutism flying about this country right now?
I've had fois gras on numerous occasions. Can't really remember what it taste like but then I again I don't remember what I ate for dinner last night.
On Thanksgiving a few years ago, my mom who is a sporadic vegetarian-vegan served up some vegetarian pseudo-turkey. It tasted like crap. Even my mom admitted to such.
At the insistence of a vegetarian friend I've eaten at numerous non-meat joints in NYC. I tried to like it but really couldn't enjoy it. (Note: When you grew up for five years in Third World poverty conditions in a countryside village, you tend to try and enjoy whatever food comes your way)
I try to buy free range chicken eggs when I can but that two dollar price difference between "happily fed and roaming" chickens and "ass to beak" penned chickens really does make a difference to my broke ass wallet. (Trying to eat healthy and moral is really fucking expensive!)
I agree with timThompson's concerns about legislating morality. It is a slippery slope and ultimately at the end of the day, (there isn't enough hours in a day for me) the concerns PETA and others have of the rights of ducks don't concern me as much as other issues such as our government and dominant culture's xenophobic, homophobic and racist attempts to oppress gays, minorities, and other non-normative members of our society. Global warming also scares the crap out of me. The inattention to the genocidal conditions of the African peoples angers me. The astronomical cost of higher education is a crippling issue that needs to be addressed. I think I have a metal tube forced in my throat--instead of being fed food, it's sucking out any money I make towards my college school loans. The gigantic question mark of North Korea--its nuclear rogue status as well as the millions starving there--should be at the top of "To-Do" list as well.
I'm sorry, these take precedence over the issue of banning fois gras. I wish the state Assembly would direct its focus on other matters first.
For those who feel banning fois gras is of utmost importance. What is next after that? What am I eating (I eat everything--I've had whale blubber and on down or up) that should be banned next?
Wow... food passions sure do make for some damn funny commentary!
PS: I back up Sooz. If you like foie gras, find an operation that doesn't force feed the ducks (of course it's cruel) and bon appetit.
I think Honkette is correct (about goose liver being foie gras)! Never thought I'd be writing these words...
P.S. Trivia question: what does foie gras mean en francais?
P.P.S. Kojak does deserve some clubbing; on top of a gay pride float in public display.
People will protest over anything these days. Don't they have anything better to do? Aren't there other causes that we should be worrying about instead? AIDS, cancer, rape in third world countries. Come on people. I honestly can't even believe eating foie gras has become an issue, what next?
I for one am a big fan of duck, foie gras, peking duck, you name it. It tastes good, don't knock it until you've tried it. And, if you're worried about it clogging your arteries, get your fat @ss to the gym.
Just because you are a vegetarian, vegan, animal lover doesn't mean that I can't eat them. You choose not to and I do. Deal with it.
Uh-oh, Gothamist--brooklyn vegan is emo-izing over whether to do Music Picks for you.
Sooz, I think you should post that recipe.
I'm not afraid to say that foie gras tastes heavenly, and is something I'll indulge in once in a great while. It's like, buttery livery goodness (I've always loved the "dark foods"). Am I comfortable with the harvesting process? Not necessarily.
Since I eat pretty much everything, I have to say I'm mighty surprised NO ONE has mentioned the Vegetarian Dim Sum House on Pell. It's some of the only vegan food that not only tastes incredible, but doesn't give me a severe case of the runs afterwards (meat doesn't do this to me, FYI).
Sadly, it seems that a lot of the young vegans (including friends of mine) grew up in bland, suburban households, and therefore never learned to eat in the first place. Their opinion of what constitutes "good" vegan fare is based upon "fakes" of their favorite childhood junk foods (i.e. mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza, burgers, wings). I think if they would promote their cause by, for instance, promoting cuisines that naturally lend themselves to such a lifestyle (like Mediterranean-based diets), then they might win more converts. A "vegetarian friend of mine who happens to dislike dairy" toured parts of Europe last summer, and stopped through on the way back to CA. He proceeded to prepare a birthday dinner on the fly of dishes inspired by the trip. Only afterwards did I even notice that the only dairy on the table was a yogurt accompaniment to an apple and beet salad. The dinner absolutely blew me away, no "fakes" needed.
For the record, I also adore the Morningstar and Smart Bacon lines. The original grillers taste just like pork, and this is a very good thing. Now, if Morningstar could invent a "veggie foie gras," that might be interesting. Or, how about a substitute that replicates the taste of a bloody steak, or sushi? That's what you're up against.
And, referring to my little "problem," I'm still convinced my 0 blood type has a little something to do with my reaction to an all vegan diet.
addendum:
and, you're defnitely not going to get my attention by invoking PETA. Just thought you should know. I don't tell people they ought to have abortions, and I don't listen to those who admonish me.
I'll stick to White Castle
www.forgotten-ny.com
That Israeli dude in the NY article is just a front man. I happen to know that the money behind the entire Hudson Valley operation comes from the estate of Trilateral Commissioner and documented Vichy collaborator Scrooge Mc Duck.
Speaking of whale blubber, a Japanese fast-food chain just put a whaleburger on its menu.
I love foie gras. First had it in France, and it was love at first bite. I am aware of how it is made, and I'm okay with it.
If you don't like foie gras, or the way that it's produced, don't eat it.
People are against lifestyle legislation until they find something that they personally cannot stand. Stop being such hypocrites. Boycott restaurants that serve foie gras, or stores that sell it, or even people who eat it if that's how you feel, but to involve the law in this? This is why the government feels the right to stick its nose into everyone's home; you open the door for one reason, and you only complain when legislation would have an unfavorable effect on your life.
"foie gras is produced by taking away a life. tofurky isn't."
so those bean curds weren't alive?
life: it's what's for dinner
"Aren't there other causes that we should be worrying about instead?"
That, by far and away, is the most mind-bogglingly stupid argument anyone can make. Gee, why should anyone worry about ANYTHING then since there's always some "other," more important cause to jump on? Why should we care about Iraqi orphans when kids are being abused right here at home every day? WHy should we worry about North Korea when there's a global AIDS crisis? I know! Let's just not do ANYTHING to try and lessen the suffering in the world (human or animal) and just plop on the couch and watch "Simple Life" reruns! Yeah!
Idiot.
No, it's not rabbit season. It's duck season!
dhex:
yes, plants are living, but they don't have "a life" in the same way that organisms in the animal kingdom do. animals, as opposed to plants, have brains which enable them to feel pain and desire life. animals, for the most part, are fully aware of their surroundings and their own being.
so it's not immoral to kill a plant because the plant has no knowledge of its existence and is not even a sentient being.
i feel like you're just being difficult.
retailwhore:
there is suffering going on here. why should there not be a law? this sure as hell isn't about the government "stick[ing] its nose into everyone's home": it's about stopping torture.
you like foie gras? too bad. some may like cock fights or starving dogs or mistreating horses, but these things are illegal because they are torture. same goes for humans.
Since the protests took off I've made it a point to order anything containing foie gras on the menu in any New York restaurant and pick-up more foie gras from Zabar's every week. Foie gras tastes really good, the ducks are just as dead as any salad, people should JUST GET OVER IT!. Vegetarians should stop being so animal-centric and realize that killing a carrot and killing a duck are the same thing...the torture just makes it more fun.
"so it's not immoral to kill a plant because the plant has no knowledge of its existence and is not even a sentient being.
i feel like you're just being difficult."
i'm not. life requires death to feed. period.
i don't think it's immoral to kill animals in the slightest, and your use of pain and awareness as a measure is lacking - i.e. if i pith myself a frog, and it no longer feels pain, and then i eat it...is that more or less moral than just killing the frog in one shot? (frogs are probably gross, too, i've never tried myself...)
ironically, i eat very little meat, for a number of reasons. but nature is the war of all against all, so we might as well get some good barbecuing in.
btw:
"so it's not immoral to kill a plant because the plant has no knowledge of its existence and is not even a sentient being."
for future reference, this is an excellent argument for infanticide (or rather, could be turned into one) or even late term abortions. it is not a good measure of worth, since you're basically saying a certain amount of conceptual power is required to make the cut for "not kill-worthy"
now that i think of it, it's also an argument for murdering the severely retarded and comatose, since they clearly lack sentience and awareness in many cases.
i have lots of veggie friends, but i've always tried to warn them from arguing that particular line. it's easily exploited.
sick. enjoy your heart disease.
Did somebody seriously just analogize vegans to abolitionists and Jewish sympathizers during the reign of the Third Reich?
"sick. enjoy your heart disease."
i will!
this culture's malthusian current will never cease to amuse me.
It always amazes me how people like to force their idea's on others. Oh let's ban this and let's ban that and we can't have this. Well I thought this was America where we had choices but I guess not.
I was raised on a farm and I understand the city slickers have no idea what they are eating or why. All they know is nothing about the what and the why. I love foie gras and why don't the people who don't like it not eat it then but don't tell me what to eat when you yourself have not done any of the raising of animals. Let's save the world and tell them all how to live and what to eat. What is next we are loosing just about all of the freedoms we have.
If god hadn't wanted us to eat animals, then he shouldn't have made them out of meat.
F-U-C-K YOU FRENCH PRICKS, EAT MY DICK AND DIE!!!
Foie Gras is almost orgasmic.....so F-U-C-K off all of you tree hugging animal activist assholes....you eat what you want, and I'll enjoy every last bite of what I want.....
It is just a hyped up food like caviar etc.
It is cruel.
Those animals are dumb but the people who eat that stuff are much dumber!!!
Finally in response to the person who says it is not cruel. Try and force feeding yourself for two weeks (please try not to vomit) and see how good it feels!
Please just stop being all hatefull and stuff. I dont like to eat food that is more cruel than need be. It isnt nesicary for these people to have a plate of nasty liver ewwww. its not my taste anyway! Please stop being haters. I think the first thing people need to do is accept eachother. The good news is that foi gras is cruel so therefore it will be banned YAY celebrates. So everyone bitching about having the right to eat foi gras good luck after its banned. Go raise your own geese because no profit should be gained from a cruel practice like this. GO PETA!!!!!!
Ps fuck you all :-) NOT
Muslim religion believes the way we slaughter livestock is unethical. According to the religion the animals need to be blessed then slaughtered in the least painful way. Take chicken for instant, the head shall be chopped off. Otherwise the meat shall not be consumed by Muslim. Many Muslim do not order chicken in restaurant or only go to a few selected restaurant. Should American as a free country outlaw to impose theses standards to accommodate the belief of certain people?
In the wild, goose and duck have the instinct to over eat before migrant yearly. They are looking to be over fed as part of their natural instinct and their liver also has the natural capacity to grow to a couple of pounds.
You are fooling yourself if you think the chickens are raise with care and love. In fact, they are raise in much worst condition as a cheap meat to the consumers. Many of the chicken you consume today never see sunlight, unable to make a step in their confide cage and possibly with distorted body. At least foie gras is appreciated as a delicacy.
If we allow foie gras to be ban then what is next? Muslim religion believes pork posses evil spirit, should sausage be banned now? Here we are claiming war against terror for freedom. Some of the commands above are worst than Nazi. Regardless if you dislike the taste or if it against your belief; you have no right to judge others for what they can or cannot eat. What is animal cruelty varies from culture to culture; so is food culture. Most religion believes that food is a gift from god. Criticizing how others consume their meal is more offensive than most of you realize.