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| Roger Moore as James Bond. Photo: ZUMA Press. |
It turns out one of Her Majesty's secret agents lived the high life only in the movies. The James Bond of the 1970s, Roger Moore, won't eat foie gras, and he won't speak to friends who do either.
"Before I knew how it was produced I would often pick at it at parties just because it was on offer -- though I never ate too much of it because of its huge calorific content," he writes Tuesday in an op-ed in the Daily Mail. "Since I have understood the cruelty attached to its production I have never touched it again. I now boycott restaurants where it is served."
"I refuse to speak to old friends who, even when they know how it is produced, are prepared to overlook the suffering for self-gratification," he writes. "My wife Christina feels just the same. No creature deserves to be treated as these birds are for our delectation."
Moore joined forces with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals three years ago to narrate a video about foie gras production. Moore contends the birds are force-fed the human equivalent of 45 pounds of pasta a day to fatten their livers.
Foie gras has long raised eyebrows, with some cities going so far as to ban its sale.
But some chefs aren't swayed by the anti-foie gras campaigns. New York Chef David Chang of Momofuku continues to serve foie gras, and earlier this year he weighed in on Eater about why.
"I can't speak to what happens at all foie gras farms, and I have no doubt there are places that don't have the proper regard for the health of their birds, but me and my guys have been to Hudson Valley Foie Gras. We've seen every last step of the process – and we were humbled by it ... After visiting the farm, we knew that the ducks were being raised in a responsible, respectful manner and that we could serve foie gras in our restaurants with a clean conscience," he wrote.
What do you think? Should James Bond be defending the waterfowl? Let us know in the comments below.
[Via Daily Mail]
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