Just to give
you a heads up, this is neither a political article nor
is it forcing a viewpoint for or against foie gras, the
large livers of fattened ducks and geese. This is simply
a statement that before one decides for or against
anything, to consume or not to consume, it’s good to get
the facts and at least make an informed
decision.
It’s easy to
say the raising of foie gras ducks is cruel as we sit
there eating our fast food chicken strips. But would we
feel the same way about chickens if we knew how the
majority were generally raised? In fact if you see how
the Moulard ducks, generally the breed used for foie
gras production, are raised– in low stress environments
eating an all natural diet and given plenty of room to
roam before the three week gavage, you might put down
that mass produced chicken that is bred in a small
cramped environment, and order up a slab of
paté!
As far as the
gavage, or tube feeding of the bird, another thing needs
to be kept in mind, ducks and geese have no gag reflex,
they are used to swallowing unusually large things whole
and they store a lot of their energy in the liver. If
the process is stopped, the liver goes back to normal
size. The tube that goes down the throat, which if done
properly, does not harm the bird nor go into it's
stomach but into the crop, and the birds don't seem to
mind. A small portion of special feed slowly siphons
into the stomach, and growers just make sure that it is
always full for the last few weeks before
processing.
I guess it’s
better to look at it as either you eat meat or you
don’t. Whether a chicken, a duck, a pig, a steer, etc..
These are animals processed for food. By necessity they
are slaughtered and eaten. A good friend of mine
said that you shouldn’t eat meat unless
you would be willing to take the process from beginning
to end. Whether you share that viewpoint or not the
point is clear, and I’m not talking about abusing
animals mind you, but if you eat meat and you don’t go
out and hunt it yourself, then it is being raised by
growers and ranchers to be fattened, slaughtered, and
eaten. Whatever you decide, it’s good to have the facts
in hand before making a
decision.
John
Paul Khoury,ACF/CCC
Corporate Chef
PREFERRED MEATS, Inc.
