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Letter to the editor

Chef's table

Foie gras ban is the wrong food fight

By GUI ALINAT
Published December 15, 2004

Foie gras has been the subject of intense controversy among chefs, animal-rights activists and consumers. On one side is history and culinary tradition, on the other are charges of animal cruelty.

Several months ago, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that will ban the production and sale of this delicacy in the state beginning in 2012. Animal rights activists have declared the law a major victory against the "delicacy of despair."

Will other states follow suit? I hope not.

Foie gras ("fatty liver" in French) is the oversized liver of a duck or goose that has been force-fed. Foie gras is about eight times the size of a normal duck or goose liver. Unacceptable? One has to know some facts before making a decision.

Man did not invent foie gras. Ducks and geese did. The process exploits the natural ability of migrating waterfowl to store excess fat in their livers when they gorge themselves in preparation for long flights. Their livers naturally enlarge to store fat, which keeps them alive. The Egyptians, 4,500 years ago, were the first to observe and replicate the ducks' natural inclination.

Careful, gentle handling of geese and ducks is absolutely essential. These waterfowl simply don't support mistreatment or they die. In proper foie gras farms, mortality rates are about 1 percent, the same as in nature.

Most of the time, the birds are raised in relative freedom. At 12 weeks, they will receive natural, progressive and controled feedings. Dr. George West, staff veterinarian for poultry and swine for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, told the New York Times recently that ducks have no gag reflex and has called the force-feeding "noninjurious."

No part of the foie gras-producing bird is wasted. Not just the livers of these ducks are valued but so are the meaty breasts. The legs, thighs, giblets and gizzards go into confit, and even the fat is prized and consumed.

Ariane Daguin, an internationally known New York chef and cookbook author, specializes in game and foie gras. She grew up in her family's restaurants in southwest France, a region rich in culinary specialties revolving around ducks and geese. She is passionate about cooking and raising farm animals.

"There is an enormous complicity between the goose and the feeder. A respect, an affective link, if you will," she says.

At first, I was wary about Daguin's ability to be impartial. After all, she makes a living cooking, importing and selling foie gras. But instead, I found passion in her comments and a respect of the food she uses. Chefs are usually aware of where their ingredients come from, but Daguin has a precise knowledge and respect of the food chain.

Large-scale production should raise other ethical questions. Look at what has been done to the turkey through mass production. The animals have such large breasts, to satisfy our demand for more white meat, that they cannot run or mate naturally.

The tactics used by anti-foie gras activists are extreme and sometimes absurd. Vandalized homes, threatened families and sabotage are among the attacks by some activists. The self-proclaimed "duck freedom fighters" pride themselves in educating the public, yet miss the point completely, urging chefs to substitute noble foie gras with vegetarian pate.

In her Chez Panisse kitchen, for instance, pioneering California restaurateur Alice Waters is committed to sustainability in a rapidly changing food world. She sees farming, foraging, cooking and table service as an unbroken sequence. With her Chez Panisse foundation, she encourages young people to learn about building a humane and sustainable farming future. She also serves foie gras.

Nevertheless, animal rights extremists convinced Schwarzenegger that the foie gras problem was so big, he could run his Hummer through it. In reality, California has one foie gras producer, reports the New York Times .

Arguably, foie gras is the finest delicacy in the world and can easily be produced, says Daguin, with respect to the animals and the environment. It can't just disappear under the illogical pressure of a few. The attacks on chefs serving foie gras, and against the only two foie gras farms in the United States, seem grossly out of proportion. More pressing, it sems to me, is the scandal of mass-produced pigs, chickens, eggs and beef. Today, foie gras is banned. Tomorrow, will beef be? It is important to raise awareness. And if there is a problem with the mass production of foie gras, it needs to be addressed. Robust, healthy animals give the best foie gras. Instead of banning it, why not create a quality label, so foie gras may still be enjoyed by afficionadoes, and at the meantime be produced in a humane, ethical way?

What if we encourage producers to give ducks and geese the proper treatment they deserve. The agreement would be signed by producers, chefs and restaurants, so we, the consumers, may be educated and make our own decision about foie gras.

-- Chef Gui Alinat welcomes questions about cooking and will respond to those of general interest in future columns. Sorry, he can't take phone calls or answer individual requests. Send questions to him in care of Taste, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail him at chefgui@chefgui.com Please include your name and city of residence.

[Last modified December 14, 2004, 11:25:52]