On the web
By TIMES WIRES
Published October 11, 2006
BIZ TIDBITS FROM THE INTERNET, BLOGS AND PODCASTS
Celebrity chefs uneasy in foie gras debate
"So how did I get here, defending the killing of God's creatures?" the celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain asks plaintively. The creatures, in this case, are ducks. The man he's asking, a fellow celebrity chef, Michael Ruhlman, is sympathetic, but he can't help but throw in a few zingers, as when he asks Bourdain, "So, are you just off on another of your bobble-head-doll rants?" The conversation, solicited by Salon and conducted via e-mail, centered on how the "food police" are making life tough not just for famous chefs, but for the entire food industry (salon.com). Michael Panter, a New Jersey legislator, has proposed a ban on the forcible feeding of ducks and geese to make foie gras, which is produced from their fattened livers. Animal-rights activists decry the practice, called gavage. The proposal comes after a similar ban in Chicago and a proposed ban on trans fats in New York City restaurants. Isn't it wrong to ram a tube down a duck's throat to pump food into it? Sure, Bourdain writes. And not only is it bad, but it makes for bad foie gras, but "that's not what D'Artagnan sells," he said, referring to the company that started the fresh foie gras revolution in the United States two decades ago. Although the fowl is fed through a tube, Bourdain writes that in "proper foie gras farming, the same feeder tends the duck every day, and more often than not, it's the duck who approaches the feeder." "They have room to run around, to live a good, natural life - even a pampered one - compared with the horrifying and vastly more widespread practice of raising battery chickens." Battery chickens are raised in a factorylike setting, stuffed into cages, and are induced through artificial lighting to produce as many eggs as they can before they are slaughtered once their egg production levels off - usually around 18 months. There's no law against that.
Cost of global warming cure: One year of growth
The threat of global warming could be staved off at the cost of just one year's worth of economic growth over the next four decades, according to a study by Pricewater-houseCoopers released last week (pwc.com). But the consulting firm says its plan would work only if it is put into place immediately. The plan is nothing new - it calls for more energy efficiency, the use of more renewable fuels and emission-reduction technologies. "Political will, of course, is the wild card here," writes Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, who maintains a blog (sustainablog.blogspot. com). He asks his readers if they have "any ideas on how this might be sold to politicians eager to gain and/or retain an office?" Nobody has responded.
Prepare your eyes: Cover letter horrors ahead
On its Web site, Killian & Co. Advertising, which specializes in branding, offers portions of cover letters from job candidates (killian advertising.com). Cover letters are "where we find the most tortured prose ever set to paper," the site says. No kidding. Some examples:
- "Who's better to spew out incite, than a college senior ... ?"
- "I also want to obtain a deeper understanding of how Advertising firms."
- "I also have a degree English which serves me well in editing text for poor grammer or typos."