Topic: Foie Gras uproar: P&O Responds...

QUOTE:

I love Foie Gras, I know it's perceived as cruel but so what.
If the goose wasn't bred for food it would be killed off anyhow.

Should we boycott Veal?..

I can agree to differ with those who have no problem that animals are killed to be eaten. I can understand their position, though it's not one I can take myself. But to be completely indifferent to deliberate cruelty and suffering is beyond me.

"Should we boycott veal?" My answer is: Find out what's involved in veal production and decide for yourself. Veal is pale because the calf is taken from its mother soon after birth (humans drink the milk the mother makes for her calf), and fed an artificial diet lacking in iron - hence its anaemic flesh. You might like the taste, but at least be aware of the cruelty involved.

Foie gras (pronounced /fw????r??/ in English; French for "fat liver") is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. This fattening is typically achieved through gavage (force-feeding) corn, according to French law.
ENJOY????? or BOYCOTT the latter for me!

Lets all be totally honest here it is impossible through poor labelling on food or poor information on restaurant/take away menus to eat food without totally knowing if the food has come from animals that have been treated well. I am sure when you sit at your restaurant table at dinner on your cruise you ask the waiter is that chicken/pork/beef etc been cared for during its life. It is only food that grabs public attention such as foie gras and veal when it causes uproar. Just think on when you are tucking into your breakfast do you ask if the eggs have come from caged hens and was the pig looked after before you tuck into the bacon I dont think somehow anybody does.

Have a cruise booked on Azura in May and appalled to note that foie gras is on the menu, which I think is disgusting. Are we to believe that foie gras has been served previously? I cannot see why an ordinary liver pate would not satisfy most appetites. Can anyone tell me the restaurant in which foie gras is served and then I know which to boycott. Must say I cannot recall it being served on previous P & O cruises. Cannot see how it can possibly be obtained 'welfare led' since the geese are force-fed.

QUOTE:

Lets all be totally honest here it is impossible through poor labelling on food or poor information on restaurant/take away menus to eat food without totally knowing if the food has come from animals that have been treated well. I am sure when you sit at your restaurant table at dinner on your cruise you ask the waiter is that chicken/pork/beef etc been cared for during its life. It is only food that grabs public attention such as foie gras and veal when it causes uproar. Just think on when you are tucking into your breakfast do you ask if the eggs have come from caged hens and was the pig looked after before you tuck into the bacon I dont think somehow anybody does.

It is all very well making broad statements like you have but unless it is specifically stated one has to assume that the ethics of the place providing the food are good but with Veal and Foie Gras there is only one method used to produce each of these products and those methods can never be described as having the welfare of the animal at heart. .....Neil

There is a lot of misconception and without being rude, ignorance on the subject due perhaps to false infromation disseminated by lobby groups and so called activists.

While on a motoring holiday in France, I visited a poultry farm where I witnessed ducks being "force" fed. A woman with a bucket of warm mash sat on a stool with a length of plastic tubing in her hand. The ducks swarmed aroung her and virtually queued up to be "forced" fed. One by one she administered a measure of feed down each duck's gullet through the plastic tubing. It then waddled away quite contented with a satisfied quack. It was perfectly natural, and if the ducks were uncomfortable or were suffering n any way, you would have to catch them to be "forced" fed, but they were instead waiting their turn to be fed this way!

OK, the ducks' livers do get enlarged from overfeeding this way to produce Foie Gras, but that is also a natural process where migratory birds, such as ducks and geese gorge themselves before flying long distances.

So Man has merely adapted a natural process to commercially produce a delicay for those who wish to enjoy it to do so with a clear conscience as I do. Those who for whatever reason still object to Foie Gras, don't eat it, but let P&O serve it to those who would like to. P&O has nothing to be apologetic or defensive about.

What did you see and where 40 years ago that was so haunting about Foie Gras production? My experience (see my post below) was totally different.

Hi Carol - the answer is -THEY CANT! Of course you don,t have to order the horrid stuff!!

Hi Peter, as you say different experience. What I witnessed was on a documentary and they were grabbing the geese by the neck, they were lifted off the ground and a metal tube was forced down their throats. At no stage did these birds look like they were enjoying the process and there was a disregard for there welfare.
Your account is what you saw but if it is so natural why are so many people still against it? I am curious, was this a tourist attraction?
Respected organisations such as "Compassion in World Farming" are against it and I would expect them to be a reliable source of information.
As you say, if you don't agree with it then don't eat it but it doesn't stop me, and plenty of other people, having a problem with it..Carol

I'm so glad this was posted. I had no idea that P&O would be serving foie gras on Azura.

When I was on QE2 a couple of years ago, I was most disappointed to be told they no longer served it. The speciality restaurants on Celebrity serve the most amazing sautéed foie gras - it really is to die for. I will certainly look forward to trying it on Azura. Thanks P&O, long may they keep serving haute cuisine to the many Brits who enjoy fine food.