Foie gras

[gtaus]

Unfortunately there is no way to make the real »foie gras« from any bird in an ethical or humane way: »Foie Gras« is French for »Fat Liver« and to produce the correct taste of this "delicacy" it is necessary to overfeed and fatten up geese or ducks in an unnatural way. No bird would voluntarily gobble down that amount of food, not even Blanca Duck.

Well said, except that in France I think you would be hard pressed to get people to agree that foie gras should be outlawed as here in America in some states. When I lived in France, there was no concern that force feeding the birds to make foie gras was unthical or inhumane. But that was 30+ years ago, so maybe attitudes have changed among the younger generations.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

As said: My personal opinion. Which i do not enforce to others and i do respect other person's opinions too.

 

[Mosey2003]

@gtaus
I've never heard of anyone growing steers that would end up so heavy they would die of a heart attack, like broilers can.

Regardless, in my opinion, force-feeding the way that is done for real foie gras is cruel. I too grow and eat broilers, and buy beef and pork (both from the store and from local farmers), and have no problem whatsoever with animals being bred and grown for the express purpose of eating them. But, personally, I feel putting a tube down one's throat in order to get enough gruel into the animal to make its liver more fatty is past acceptable management practices for me.

I understand that many countries/people (like the French, as noted) also feel strongly about this. That doesn't mean that I would ever do it, or advise someone else to either.

 

[gtaus]

@gtaus
I've never heard of anyone growing steers that would end up so heavy they would die of a heart attack, like broilers can.

Back in the day, I was in Future Farmers of America (FFA) like every other boy in our high school. I can still remember the old farmers complaining about the selective breeding of cattle to gain weight too fast and the need to butcher them young because the cattle would die of heart attacks if not harvested. I heard the same type of complaints about the breeding of dairy cattle to produce so much milk that their bones could not support their weight after a few years. I'm not a farmer, so I only have these notions in my head from those who did raise cattle. If that is not right, I will gladly be corrected.

It is, however, consistent with the concept of our Cornish-X chickens which need to be harvested ~10 weeks or they get so fat they cannot stand on their own feet. I have raised Cornish-X chickens and can attest to the fact they are not meant to live a long life in the backyard.

FWIW, I have always tried to raise my animals in the most ethical and humane way as possible, with the understanding that one day the animal would be giving the ultimate sacrifice at harvest time.

 

[cottontail farm]

As i write in your other thread:

Unfortunately there is no way to make the real »foie gras« from any bird in an ethical or humane way: »Foie Gras« is French for »Fat Liver« and to produce the correct taste of this "delicacy" it is necessary to overfeed and fatten up geese or ducks in an unnatural way. No bird would voluntarily gobble down that amount of food, not even Blanca Duck.

You can however produce »duck liver pate« from the livers of your butchered ducks, there are plenty of recipes available in the internet, just enter "duck liver pate" into the search-engine of your choice and start drooling…

I have tried »foie gras« many years ago, before i knew about the horrible way it is produced and i was quite disappointed: It surely melts in your mouth, because it's mostly fat (duck/geese lard) and tastes like nothing, with a faint aftertaste of liver. Personally i prefer the strong livery-taste of a good pate.

Thanks for sharing. I've never had it but always wondered what it was like. Sounds a bit like marrow?

 

[cottontail farm]

As i write in your other thread:

Unfortunately there is no way to make the real »foie gras« from any bird in an ethical or humane way: »Foie Gras« is French for »Fat Liver« and to produce the correct taste of this "delicacy" it is necessary to overfeed and fatten up geese or ducks in an unnatural way. No bird would voluntarily gobble down that amount of food, not even Blanca Duck.

You can however produce »duck liver pate« from the livers of your butchered ducks, there are plenty of recipes available in the internet, just enter "duck liver pate" into the search-engine of your choice and start drooling…

I have tried »foie gras« many years ago, before i knew about the horrible way it is produced and i was quite disappointed: It surely melts in your mouth, because it's mostly fat (duck/geese lard) and tastes like nothing, with a faint aftertaste of liver. Personally i prefer the strong livery-taste of a good pate.

This might be a stupid question, but would a finishing diet of mostly corn produce similar results?

 

[Ratchnick]

Everyone is welcome to their opinions, but @Ratchnick i wonder what is your definition of torture? No perhaps it’s inaccurate to say that they are “tortured to death” via massive force feeding and nailing them to the floor so they can’t move away from the tube in their throat, but then I wouldn’t call that “humane treatment “ either

The first thing i said was that i was not a supporter of foie gras. And i never said it was not torture. But many of you seem to be spouting nonsense as fact. Anyone can pull pictures off wikipedia, but if you actually read the wiki you find that france produces over 75% of the foie gras in the world, and to quote wikipedia

"In France, at the end of 2015, individual cages were prohibited to improve animal welfare. They will be replaced by cages which house 4 to 5 birds."

Certainly it is possible some producers in some small country with out animal husbandry laws that staple their feet to the floor but that certainly is not an industry standard.

 

[johntfs]

The first thing i said was that i was not a supporter of foie gras. And i never said it was not torture. But many of you seem to be spouting nonsense as fact. Anyone can pull pictures off wikipedia, but if you actually read the wiki you find that france produces over 75% of the foie gras in the world, and to quote wikipedia

"In France, at the end of 2015, individual cages were prohibited to improve animal welfare. They will be replaced by cages which house 4 to 5 birds."

Certainly it is possible some producers in some small country with out animal husbandry laws that staple their feet to the floor but that certainly is not an industry standard.

As of Dec 22, 2015, this is still done:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ed-and-killed-at-farm-in-france-a6783461.html

Be aware that the video is pretty awful.

 

[Ratchnick]

As of Dec 22, 2015, this is still done:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ed-and-killed-at-farm-in-france-a6783461.html

Be aware that the video is pretty awful.

Didn't read the article but i watched the short video, I'm sure lots of other places cull ducklings.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Thanks for sharing. I've never had it but always wondered what it was like. Sounds a bit like marrow?

I don't know, since the marrow-balls in the German marrow-ball soup (Markklöschen) are usually heavy spiced with pepper. I have never tried any other dish with bone-marrow.