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Foie gras is one of the most controversial ingredients in the food world these days. Chicago has banned it and California has a law on the books that will make it illegal to sell or raise foie gras in that state by 2012. Here in Philadelphia, a city councilman has proposed a ban similar to the one passed in Chicago. There's a local group called Hugs for Puppies that targets area restaurants that serve foie gras and stages large protests in front of those establishments.
Now area restaurateurs are fighting back, having formed a group called Philadelphia Chefs for Choice that is championing the cause of foie gras throughout the city. During the week of October 1st, twenty local restaurants will be serving foie gras specials on their lunch and dinner menus for just $5. They say in their press release, "In the city of Philadelphia, the birthplace of American liberty, we want to keep the right to serve foie gras."
If you need a little more information about how foie gras is raised, check out Liver Let Die, a balanced article about how Hudson Valley Foie Gras treats their animals.
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9-28-2007 @3:56PM Kiwi Carlisle said... Why isn't it Hugs for Geese instead of Hugs for Puppies?
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9-28-2007 @4:03PM Crosius said... I wondered the same thing. I think they must be a little confused. Here's a tip that I hope will clear everything up:
Geese are not Puppies.
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9-28-2007 @4:31PM Joba Chamberlain said... Much ado about nothing.
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9-28-2007 @9:05PM ann marie said... first they come for our goose liver
then they come for our porn
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9-29-2007 @12:12AM Deuz Augustine said... Any organization that is appealing to people by naming themselves HUGS FOR PUPPIES immediately discredits themselves.
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9-29-2007 @3:30PM Charli said... I am a vegetarian. It is my choice in a country which thankfully affords me such choices. These HFP people are really just trying to take away our choices.
I support Philly Chefs for Choice in their efforts. (See http://artisanfarmers.org for restaurant and chef info.)The event is clearly designed to expose more people to foie gras. If no one speaks against the minority activists, we will lose the right to eat foie gras. And the slope is slippery. Veal may go next. Then chicken. These activists aren’t going to stop until they have us all eating legumes and liking it. The final strike, if it were up to these activists, would be an end to meat-eating altogether.
There are only three foie gras farms in the United States. We aren’t talkig about agri-business here. We’re talking about small farms producing a small amount of product. But this is why foie gras has become an easy target for the minority zealots in Philadelphia, Chicago, Austin, and many states. In many situations, property owners have been targeted with vandalism and threats have been made against the lives of their families. Protesting is one thing, terrorism is quite another.
Ultimately, business owers are punished by these people for running their businesses legally, in the way they see fit. They lose customers to the screaming hoardes (who wants to walk through a screaming band of zealots for lunch?) and lose more when they are forced to give in and take foie gras off the menu. Business owners lose thousands of dollars just fighting these people off. Commerce suffers in cities where these activists attack.
Those who talk about the curelty of the foie gras process are sadly misinformed. They are putting humans in the place of the animals. By this logic, we should be horrified that the poor things stand around in the winter without shoes and socks.
That is the basic misconception exploited by animal rights organizations, that ducks are like people. Yes, a tube in the throat is not comfortable for humans. Neither is swallowing whole, spiny wriggling fish, which many species of ducks delight in.
In the same way, an enlarged liver in water fowl is a normal process, not a disease process. In fact, most birds have the same mechanism. Have you ever seen fat hummingbirds? Yet they sure take on a lot of sugar water before they migrate. The extra energy is stored in an enlarged liver.
For the activists and others not well-informed on the issue, foie gras production has been carefully examined by animal welfare advocates who have determined it to be humane. Unfortunately, these activists (or terrorists, if you will) are uneducated and ignorant of the truth. They may even know the facts but chose to ignore them out of zealotry for their cause.
Those who wish to know more about foie gras production, there are two articles at the bottom of the first page of http://www.artisanfarmers.org that discuss the animal welfare aspects of it. For some additional perspective, see: http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/sep05/050901q.asp
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9-30-2007 @8:17PM kristin said... I do not think it's fair to say that article is 'balanced'. It is very one-sided.
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10-01-2007 @11:44AM jsmylie said... Hugs for Puppies? Jeez, we couldn't even get PETA over there, it had to be a group called Hugs for Puppies? But I guess there's nothing hilarious about a group of protesters outside your restaurant, even if they have a ridiculously stupid name.
I do care about animal welfare, but at the same time, I agree with Charli that the majority of people protesting foie gras protest don't know what the hell they're talking about. And I'm ticked that, being a Chicagoan, I'll have to either go underground or travel abroad to try a bite of this dish.
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10-01-2007 @12:25PM wintem01 said... Never had foie gras in my life, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let some holier than thou special interest group tell me I can't. And I'm with Ann Marie, guess what's next on the liberty chopping block? Instead of Hugs for Puppies taking away your foie gras, it will be Hugs for Pu**ies taking away your perfectly legal adult entertainment.
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