The Food You Eat
Recently Chef Wolfgang Puck announced that he was not going to serve foie gras at his restaurants any more. This is the result of a multi year, well organized effort on the part of an animal rights group called Farm Sanctuary. They have been conducting protests and had even set up a web site called wolfgangpuckscruelty.org for the past 3 years specifically targeting him to change his ways.
So, with the pressure from the protests, he decided to become “more socially responsible”. He contacted the Humane Society of the United States and developed a menu that ensures that the chickens were housed cage free, the calves were able to roam before becoming veal, and the lobsters have been removed from the crowded holding tanks as quickly as possible. His restaurants will only serve seafood that is sustainable instead of destroying the worlds populations of “tasty” fish.
In my mind, the people of the United States, especially those living in the cities, need to become more informed about the food they eat. Children have no concept of what “meat” is and where it comes from. And the more shameful thing is that many adults do not know either. Before ordering foie gras, a person should know not only what it is, but how it is produced. Thousands and thousands of geese have a feeding tube shoved down their throats (often times tearing it and causing death), and are forcefully pumped with a high fat gruel. This is done many times a day until the liver is filled with fat and can no longer function as a bodily organ. Before the geese die of liver failure, they are killed and the fat filled liver is harvested for foie gras. Sound appetizing?
When you ordered veal, did you know that the newborn calves were on short chains, (to prevent movement), in total darkness to keep the muscles white and tender? Still interested in the veal Parmesan? Know what you are eating, and make sure your conscience can handle the truth. If more people would learn what food is, and how it is produced, they would not allow the inhumane treatment of these animals. It isn’t necessary, and it never was. Just cheap and convenient. We have come too far to allow these practices to continue. I applaud Chef Puck for taking the time to learn about the origins of food and his effort to serve only the best.
April 2nd, 2007 at 5:46 am
[…] I’m going out on a serious limb here. Back on March 23rd I wrote on how I was “Sorely disappointed in Chef Wolfgang Puck” due to his decision to remove foie gras from his menus. What I’ve found is that someone else on BlogsMonroe.com disagrees with me in a huge way. Of course, it may be that Dr. Lisa Whiting, DVM, author of the Pet Talk blog here on BlogsMonroe.com wrote about how much she supports Chef Wolfgang’s decision just four days later on March 27th is simply a coincidence. […]
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:38 pm
I can’t wait to see Pet Talk’s response to the LunaPierCook’s challenge on foie gras. As an interested observer who hasn’t made up his mind, I’m looking forward to the information.
Not that I’ve ever been tempted to try foie gras…
April 3rd, 2007 at 11:16 am
But Dan at least you know what it is and how it is produced. And that was the point of the post. People need to know what they are eating, and how it is made. Armed with the facts, you can decide whatever makes you feel comfortable. For some people becoming a vegan is the only way to go. For others like me, I will not support an obviously cruel practice. It is all about education!
April 3rd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
But Dr. Whiting, it is not an obviously cruel practice when you actually have the real facts … which was the point of my response to your post. There’s far too much misinformation out there about this, far too much hype, which is why I wrote what I did.
April 3rd, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Well, lets break it down then and describe the facts. The geese are housed in buildings because they are easier to catch. No access to sunshine and the water they love. They are caught, and restrained, an act to which, most animals find frightening. Then a tube is put down their throats, (and some people are more forceful than others at this because after all, it is just a bird), and food is pumped in until it bubbles up and out of the tube. If tube feeding was enjoyable, we would do this at fast food restaurants.
To do a reality check on the procedure, try doing it on a small child. No matter how careful or skillful you are, you will cause the child to gag, panic and cry. They dont understand, and neither does the animal.
If it were a one time procedure and the animal was then killed, it would not be a big issue. But the feedings take place several times a day, for weeks. It just is not worth the trauma. Am I against eating liver? Hell no–I love liver and onions. But why do all this JUST FOR THE LIVER?
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Small child? I’ll ignore that part … there’s no comparison.
Obviously, you didn’t even read what I wrote. I did describe the facts, and they’re quite different from what you’re saying here. The examples there, with references, specifically state it’s a small amount of feed, and there’s no pumping involved. I’ve laid out where I get my information, quite plainly. Yours, please?
I read Pet Talk regularly (and yea, I will continue to do so), and only disagree with you in this one area so far. Why? Because this kind of thing is indeed something I’m passionate about. That’s why I’ve taken a good hard look at it. And in other areas, I’ll certainly follow what you have to say.
So, please, give me a tad bit of credit.
April 4th, 2007 at 3:54 am
Credit?! For looking on the internet, finding an organization largely funded by agriculture, and finding that (suprise!), they endorse common farming practices? Wow, you are good!
How about going to Phillip Morris and finding a medical doctor who still believes that smoking isnt really all that bad?
Or looking up a scientist who testified last year that global warming was just a myth?
You get what you pay for these days. Let me ask you–how many geese have you owned as pets? How many ill poultry have you treated medically? How many production poultry farms have you visited? How many poultry have you had to euthanize? Where did you study animal welfare?
I consider poultry a hobby of mine, so I feel much more qualified to speak about this topic than just any generalized veterinarian. I have owned several geese as well as other fowl. I was an Animal Care Veterinary Medical Officer with the USDA for 9 years and am well versed in the current aspects of humane animal care. I spent 3 months of my life,( 12 hours a day), working on the Exotic Newcastles disease outbreak in southern California where I became very knowledgeable about production poultry farming. I can tell you what the conditions are really like in those facilities unlike you, who may, or may not, have visited a farm (with time to prep for outside visitors). Or did you just look at pictures on the internet?
So the real question is “facts”. You think you have them, I say you dont have a clue. But that is what a debate is all about–don’t you agree?
April 4th, 2007 at 4:13 am
“For looking on the internet, finding an organization largely funded by agriculture, and finding that (suprise!), they endorse common farming practices?”
So, you only read one part of my post. I see. There’s more to what I have to say than what you’ve implied.
This isn’t a debate anymore. You’re only hearing what you want to hear, and I’m a bit sad for you in that.
You’ll get no tirade from me in return for yours. I don’t work that way.
But telling someone they “don’t have a clue” is exactly the kind of behavior I stopped blogging about in protest last week. And to see it here is even sadder still.
What I’ll agree with is to wholeheartedly disagree with you. Whether you want to believe it or not, I do know more than you think. I just won’t go off on you about it.
Now, remember this one thing: At some point, all us bloggers may get together … it’s something I’d like to ping Dan about for this summer. So, you and I will likely meet if I can get this to happen.
I hereby promise never to mention foie gras to you again. It’ll be a nice meeting. Really. As that’s how it should be.