Foie Gras War: From York to China?

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Today, the City of York's council is considering the ban of foie gras from its restaurants, the first such in England, according to The Independent. Leading the British crusade is Paul Blanchard, a Labour councillor, who believes that gavage is torture. He has support from fellow Labour members and the local Green Party. Blanchard is clearly copying Chicago counterpart, Alderman Joe Moore, who last year led a ban of foie gras in Chicago (see previous article). To avoid criticism, Blanchard has stated: I have been asked why I am trying to address this issue when we are confronted with so many more pressing issues like crime and transport. I also readily accept there is much injustice afflicted upon humans that far outweigh cruelty to animals. However, that there are greater wrongs in the world should not require us to turn a blind eye to other cruelties when they are exposed. Apparently, England (or York at least) has no such problems, so he feels unconstrained and can move on to lesser issues. Joe Moore supports Blanchard in York from Chicago. The Independent quoted him saying, "If the City of York Council passes this motion, it will make a profound moral statement against cruelty, and send a powerful message that it upholds the values of a civilised and humane society." Marie-Claire Macintosh of Compassion In World Farming, said: "We applaud the City of York Council in its pioneering efforts to get foie gras banned on cruelty grounds. The method to produce this 'delicacy' is brutal and inherently cruel and has no place in a civilised society." Clearly, there is a global conspiracy at work, aided greatly by the Internet, that helps animal rights activitists and politicians support each other. Their goal? Blanchard explained, "We are still one of the biggest importers of foie gras from France, and until that stops, the torture of these birds is on all our consciences." That is, their aim is to hurt markets for France, the world's largest foie gras producer. Well, Super Chef certainly supports the right to organize and act -- in a legal manner. But we like to see such organization and action occur on an intelligent, informed basis. So, let's survey the scene and a very possible trend... A rising foie gras producer right now is China. Logically, if France slacks off in production, China will replace much of it with cheaper, unregulated product. So, instead of having a chance to regulate production in France, should people feel a more "humane" form of gavage be necessary, we will have next to no chance in convincing China to do likewise. You remember China, don't you? That is where Tiananmen Square lies. So, while animal rights activists shove their beliefs down our throats, shall we think before we react -- and be careful what what we wish for? After all, perhaps this contrived, anti-foie gras poster (below) is really just an image of what is to come: purposeful force-feeding of humans -- the new Chinese torture, shall we say? Video: BBC: Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 Related news: Independent York Press Previous articles: Eric Schlosser: Chew On This Foie Gras War: Chicago Ban Foie Gras War: Voodoo and Vigilantes Foie Gras War: Chicago Slaughterhouse [Foie Gras War - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef