Agence France Presse reports that former James Bond star Roger Moore is calling for a ban on the sale of foie gras in Britain. The actor, who starred in films including "Live And Let Die" and "A View To A Kill", has written to lawmakers urging them to support calls for the move by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
"I wholeheartedly support this campaign and with your help, I believe that we will soon see an end to this brutal and inherently cruel 'delicacy,'" he wrote. The letter and an accompanying DVD, which highlight the "cruel" process used to produce foie gras, also call on legislators to sign a parliamentary motion supporting a ban which has so far been backed by 83 of them.
The motion notes that, to produce the delicacy, "12 week old ducks and geese are restrained and grain is forced down the throat through a gavage pipe, a process that often results in physical injury." It adds that the process swells the birds' livers to up to 10 times their normal size causing "great pain" and calls on the government to ban the sale of foie gras in Britain.
Earlier this month, nearly 9,000 members of the public signed a petition calling for a ban submitted by a local councillor from York, north England, to the website of Prime Minister Tony Blair's Downing Street office. In the United States, California and Chicago have already banned the sale of foie gras, while production is prohibited in countries including Germany and Italy.
Spot the Difference:
An 'adored' family pet dying a slow and painful death caused by the clogging up of arteries and too much weight pressure on joints and limbs and spine and the 'gavage' of a goose
An obese child on a couch with bowls of junk food and geese on a foie gras farm roaming free in wide space and open air“
One of the most common causes of overweight in children is overfeeding,” according to Dr. Philip Nader, a paediatrician and professor emeritus at the University of California at San Diego. Lead researcher Rachel Kimbro of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, USA, adds to this non sequitur: “
These children are already disadvantaged (because often their families are poor,) and by age 3 they are on track for a lifetime of health problems related to obesity.” The MSNBC site reports that some 17 percent of U.S. youngsters are obese, and millions more are overweight. Recent statistics published in Britain were equally disturbing, and serious measures are planned to change an entire nation's bad eating and exercise habits. Obesity can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, sleep problems and other disorders — and the problem starts early. Overweight preschoolers have a five times higher risk of being fat at age 12 than do lean preschoolers.I am loathe to use one negative to defend another. It solves nothing. But my question in this debate is why do people become so vehement in their fight for the plight of the fowls that are bred and raised to provide an important product -- important in the livelihood of many very hard-working farming communities - while back at home their children are more likely as not under-exercised and overweight because while their parents are out there fighting for the rights of ducks and geese, they are left at home to fend for themselves with take-away pizzas and MacDo double whopper hamburgers and French fries, packets of crisps and cola's. And let's not forget their pets which are equally overfed and under exercised and dying a slow death of malnutrition and weight related medical conditions.
I will never defend any practice, for whatever reason, where animals of any kind are abused, caused pain or kept in inhumane conditions. Unfortunately there will always be those who will cause pain to animals. There is also no denying that there are cases where the birds are injured in the 'gavage' feeding process - just as all animals on all farms are exposed to possible injury. However, in the foie gras production business, each bird is literally worth its weight in gold, so it very much in the best interest of the farmer to treat them with the best and gentlest of care, to keep them in good health and the best possible environment, so rather fight for more inspections, closer monitoring, stricter licensing for foie gras producers -- and concentrate the animal-rights fighting energy for such things as bear baiting and travelling circuses.
There are many reasons why celebrities, such as Roger Moore make sure they get easy and quick media attention by getting involved with animal rights movements -- but that is another story........Generally speaking, I realise that possibly the main reason that there is such an outcry against the production of foie gras, is firstly the fact that this is a luxury item -- it costs a lot of money for a small portion of foie gras
(it is such a small micro-industry and the production process so labour intensive that the volume is of course limited) and therefore only a small handful of people can afford to ever eat it, and secondly the fact that it is consequently not a necessary or important food item for the consumer.
The recorded historical background of Foie gras goes back to Egyptian times.
The Egyptians observed that wild geese and ducks binge-eat - or 'force-feed' themselves before undertaking their seasonal migration in order to build up vast quantities of fat reserves in the live. They used this natural phenomenon, except that, when domesticating the fowls, they started inducing the natural over-feeding all year round. When, later, the Romans continued this practice, they went one further and used figs to fee the fowls -- from there the origin of the word foie (liver) -- from "ficandum" or fig. Jewish immigrants introduced geese to Alsace and served goose on their feast days as an alternative to the pork that was common in the area. For a long time these Jews of central Europe were the only ones to know the secrets of good foie gras.
Today, 90% of France's foie gras is produced in the Perigord in southwest France, by far the largest foie gras-producing region in the world. The French consume 75% of the world production. Between 1992 and 2002, French production doubled, with 95% of the foie gras coming from ducks and 5% from geese.
The primary objection that some people have to foie gras is the feeding method used to produce the product. The birds must be overfed in order to create the fattened liver. The liver enlarges over the course of the feeding process known as gavage. Claims have been made that the enlarged liver is "diseased". This is not true. In fact, it has been shown the liver shrinks back down to its normal size when a bird returns to lesser amounts of food intake. There is no evidence that the tube feeding method used to produce foie gras is inhumane. Being fed through a tube may sound unappealing to humans; however, it is important to remember that the oesophagus of a duck or goose is very different from ours. In nature, these birds are accustomed to storing fish and other foods in their oesophagus, sometimes for long periods of time. I have spent a lot of time with friends who raise geese and ducks to produce foie gras, and have seen how the birds crowds around her when it is feeding time, clamouring to be the first to be fed. I have also seen these same friends sit with tears streaming down their faces, killing their few hundred birds rather than confine them to an enclosed and cramped space when the law demanded it during the bird flu scare in France.
The perception of foie gras as a luxury–and therefore wasteful product is another objection sometimes voiced by foie gras opponents. Contrary to what some people believe, almost every part of the mallard ducks that are raised for foie gras are used, more than any other bird raised for human consumption. The breasts, legs, wings, carcasses, tongues, feet, intestines, feathers and duck fat are all utilized. In fact, it is probably one of the few animals of which every possible part is used. Based on expertise borne of generations of experience, France has defined this business and set strict limits on what can be called foie gras in France. Very strict inspections are regularly conducted on all producing farms, vaccinations, food quality, environment quality and the general well-being of the animals are of utmost importance to keep the standards of the highest quality, as well as in the interests of the birds.
For a country where most other animals do not enjoy too many humane concessions, the geese and ducks are the conspicuous exception. From the very old and highly respected firms to the many specialized local markets and the stays or cooking classes offered by small producers, foie gras in France is much more than business: it is a highly cultural aspect of life and society.
Nutritional Facts
Per Serving Size of 2 oz or 56gCalories 250
Calories From Fat 220
Total Fat 24g 37%
Saturated Fat 7g 33%
Foie gras is surprisingly low in bad fats and high in good fats. Many studies conducted by well-known and respected authorities have proven foie gras is as healthful as any other meat, although moderation is the key. We know that France consumes the largest portion of the world's foie gras production; yet, there are far fewer cardio-vascular diseases in France than in the USA, for instance, and the life expectancy is higher in France as well.
• Foie gras cru - raw foie gras
• Foie gras frais - fresh foie gras: This is usually purchased from delicatessens and is cooked in pots. It will keep for about one week in the refrigerator.
• Foie gras mi-cuit: foie gras semi-cooked: This preparation is sold in cans and will keep for 3 months in the refrigerator once it is opened. It can be labelled in a variety of ways.
• Foie gras de conserve - preserved foie gras which is sold in jars and preserved in its own fat, it will keep for years and improves like wine.
Glossary: * Foie gras d'oie entier - whole goose foie gras
* Foie gras de canard entier - whole duck foie gras
* Foie gras au naturel - Pure whole livers
* Bloc de foie gras or parfait de foie gras - liver compacted from small pieces and may include truffles
* Pâté de foie d'oie - whole goose liver coated with forcemeat.
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