PETA and Foie Gras

[Guybrush Threepwood]

BTW, ducks do not provide foie gras, that comes only from, geese

You'd best tell that to the French, since their legislation says that foie gras is made from the livers of either ducks or geese although they have to be fed through gavage.

Indeed, and a wikipedia search for Foie Gras de Canard redirects to the main page for Foie Gras. I expect it's just that a guy with a Jag only eats the top of the range stuff

Incidently, the wiki article has links to a couple of EU reports which mention oesophageal scarring and increased mortality from gavage, so it's not all beer and skittles being a Foie Gras goose (or duck)

 

[Ryokan]

Opposition to foie gras is not limited to PETA, and I'm guessing the issue is probably older than PETA as well.

 

[The Don]

You'd best tell that to the French, since their legislation says that foie gras is made from the livers of either ducks or geese although they have to be fed through gavage.

I stand corrected.

Oh, and with the mileage the Jag gets, I'm lucky to be able to afford liver sausage never mind foie gras

 

[philkensebben]

Cruelty to ducks is disgusting. Cruelty to geese however is well deserved. They are nasty and very scary. Its Karma man!

 

[MRC_Hans]

Thanks for the link redfarmer

Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations, Foie Gras Not Cruel

Or:

Off topic, but I'm sick and tired of this kind of reports. Over 4 minutes of talking heads and about ten seconds of the actual force-feeding, the latter shown again 4 times. - And a few clips of ducks ... hey, I happen to know what ducks look like. Sure, it does not look very dramatic, and I don't think it is any more or less cruel than a lot of other things we do to domestic animals.

But why is this a video clip? Half a page of text and a still photo would be just as informative.

...Never mind ....

Hans

 

[MRC_Hans]

Indeed, and a wikipedia search for Foie Gras de Canard redirects to the main page for Foie Gras. I expect it's just that a guy with a Jag only eats the top of the range stuff

Incidently, the wiki article has links to a couple of EU reports which mention oesophageal scarring and increased mortality from gavage, so it's not all beer and skittles being a Foie Gras goose (or duck)

Goose foie gras is the original and is supposed to be best, but it is not all birds that respond well to the force-feeding, and the yield is better on ducks (for whatever reason). So these days they mostly use ducks.

I could easily do without the stuff. We do so many cruel things to animals, but that should not keep us from striking some from the list.

Hans

 

[Wildy]

Oh, and with the mileage the Jag gets, I'm lucky to be able to afford liver sausage never mind foie gras

But you've got a Jaaaaaaag.

Cruelty to ducks is disgusting. Cruelty to geese however is well deserved. They are nasty and very scary. Its Karma man!

That depends on the geese. I've found Cape Barren Geese to be friendly enough.

 

[Damien Evans]

Cruelty to ducks is disgusting. Cruelty to geese however is well deserved. They are nasty and very scary. Its Karma man!

Swans too, the evil bastards. Especially black swans.

 

[Cain]

The PETA people are insane. Socially maladjusted. How many ducks STARVE to death in the wild? I don't have exact figures but I'm guessing it's somewhere between "many" and "a lot." These farms must be like duck heaven. This is like a proud-heterosexual American male getting ****** to death by a young Heather Locklear. No, two Heather Locklears. And as someone above observed, regulations just make the problem worse. Imagine if some bubbleheaded bureaucrat said, "You have to get screwed to death by FOUR young Heather Locklears." Well, guess what. There are only so many young Heather Locklears to go around, so pretty soon some guys will get ****** to death by an OLD Heather Locklear. Peta people know no logic.

I'm sure the practice is not cruel, especially because Foie Gras tastes delicious. And if it is cruel, then what's the big deal? We're talking about ducks here... Ducks... ... ... Ducks.

 

[Spindrift]

I wonder how much damage the duck suffers once its liver has been removed and ground up into a tasty spread.

That's Pâté.

Foie Gras is the whole liver or a least a lobe of it. My wife loves the stuff. Me, I've had it, but it doesn't appeal to me and I'll eat most any of gods tasty creatures.

 

[Skepticemea]

I can't remember who said it, but a comedian once alleged that a scotch egg was the ultimate affront to vegan sensibilities. The product of death encasing the promise of life.

 

[redfarmer]

[Duplicate posted by mistake]

 

[redfarmer]

Since you didn't provide a link or a quote and seem like you might be a little biased against PETA, I have to ask if you're fairly representing their argument.

Well, as I said above, I would love to provide as many links as needed, but my post count currently is too low. Suffice it to say the action is linked from the front page of the PETA web site.

 

[redfarmer]

Indeed, and a wikipedia search for Foie Gras de Canard redirects to the main page for Foie Gras. I expect it's just that a guy with a Jag only eats the top of the range stuff

Incidently, the wiki article has links to a couple of EU reports which mention oesophageal scarring and increased mortality from gavage, so it's not all beer and skittles being a Foie Gras goose (or duck)

The video RandFan posted for me debunks the claims that force feeding causes esophageal scarring. Ducks have a hard lining on their throats that prevents damage to their throats, and no gag reflex.

 

[redfarmer]

Goose foie gras is the original and is supposed to be best, but it is not all birds that respond well to the force-feeding, and the yield is better on ducks (for whatever reason). So these days they mostly use ducks.

I could easily do without the stuff. We do so many cruel things to animals, but that should not keep us from striking some from the list.

Hans

That's true, but shouldn't we have an actual reason to call it cruel before we declare it cruel and strike it from the list?

From a report on a visit by Dr. Robert P. Gordon of the American Veterinary Medical Association to a foie gras farm:

On July 5, he visited a farm in New York. "After being on the premises, my position changed dramatically," Dr. Gordon said. "I did not see animals I would consider distressed, and I didn't see pain and suffering." He said it is more distressing to take a rectal temperature in a cat. He cautioned against anthropomorphism, which is different from the human-animal bond.

Dr. James M. Harris agreed with Dr. Gordon that the use of "emotionally laden terms" is inappropriate. "We are a science-based, factual-based professional organization. ... Whatever decision we make today has implications for agriculture." He appealed to his colleagues not to "give the squeaky wheel the grease."

In all fairness, the context of the report is that the AVMA was considering condemning the production of foie gras. Interestingly, none of the doctors who claim distress for the animals were among those who made the visits to the farms and only one thought there was any possibility of disease.

 

[Mark6]

The actual feeding isn't terribly cruel if it's done correctly. I have a video of Anthony Bourdain visiting a foie gras farm and witnessing a feeding. (Unfortunately, I can't post the URL yet because of my post number.) However, suffice it to say, he interviews a veterinarian who says that any contention there is damage being done to the esophagus is just false. Ducks have a tough lining in their throat to prevent damage.

Ducks swallow live crayfish.

 

[Psi Baba]

Is this the PETA issue du jour? PETA need to get their asses to China if they want to do something worthwhile regarding animals but they waste effort raising a ruckus about non-issues, which is why I often wonder if that organization is even about animals. They're basically just attention whores.

 

[Wildy]

Is this the PETA issue du jour? PETA need to get their asses to China if they want to do something worthwhile regarding animals but they waste effort raising a ruckus about non-issues, which is why I often wonder if that organization is even about animals.

At the moment I'm of the opinion that they want people to become vegan or at least not eat meat. The last thing I heard of them was this attempt to "capitalise" on the murder of Mirabelle Thao-Lo.

They're basically just attention whores.

"We are complete press sluts" - Ingrid Newkirk

 

[philkensebben]

I can't remember who said it, but a comedian once alleged that a scotch egg was the ultimate affront to vegan sensibilities. The product of death encasing the promise of life.

For maxiumum rage, you'd want a tub of foie gras to dip it in.

 

[sadhatter]

Call me weird, but in regards to animal cruelty to animals that get eaten the following is my view on the subject.

Once the actions are being performed for fun, the actions are cruel. This both expands and contracts the amount of things that would qualify for me.

Shoot a chicken with a pellet gun ( and yes i have seen this, and gotten angry) out of boredom? Cruelty. As an example.

But if what is being done is being done for the purpose of food, or the increased ease or production, well that is what we are using the animal for.

I used to be a big peta fan, but guilt doesn't work on me. My family has a lot of farmers, and i have seen all the gory details. And still it does nothing to turn me off of my meals.

We are carnivores, roll back the clock and we would be killing things with dull spears and clubs. What we are doing now , assuming we are doing it to eat, not just to watch something get hurt, is much more humane than that.

Now, on the flip side, i can't take anyone, hurting any animal for fun for any reason, even hunting i am a bit iffy on if someone isn't eating what they shoot. Heck, i have had to roll around with the moral conundrum of killing mice in my building, and only came to the decision of killing them after much damage had been done.