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[XiaNaphryz]

You can pick your battles. Just because certain animals are treated horribly in the industry doesn't mean we should just allow all types of inhumane treatment of all animals to take place.

The link Raist just posted seems to imply that its not inhumane when done properly, even with force feeding.

http://www.artisanfarmers.org/images/Foie_Gras_Study_by_Dr._Guemene.pdf

Conclusion:

Our objective has been to provide objective experimental data to a debate that has, heretofore, been dominated by emotion. Our data has been published in both national and international peer-reviewed scientific journals. Our years of study have led us to conclude that the scientific data do not support the statement written in the report from the European Veterinary Scientifc Committee (1998) that "[t]he scientific committee on animal health and animal welfare concludes that force feeding, as currently practiced, is deterimental to the welfare of the birds." That statement, while clearly taken for granted by opponents of foie gras, was based on the very limited amount of scientific literature available at the time and is not support by the extensive scientific experimentation done in the intervening years.

That study seems to match what the earlier article link was stating:

According to Bob, when the feeder feels the duck's esophagus, if there's any food remaining, she'll skip that feeding. So while the ducks are technically force-fed, there is a level of built-in anatomical control so that the ducks can't take in any more food than they can physically handle. That's more respect than most fast food chains show for their human customers.

I wouldn't exactly say that the ducks were lining up to be fed, as has been suggested by some foie advocates, but they certainly didn't seem stressed. By all activists accounts, these ducks should have been so fattened that they could barely stand under their own power. I didn't see one duck vomit, nor did I see any that couldn't stand or walk due to the weight of their livers.

Tony Bourdain likes to remind us that we see worse things committed against human beings on late night pay-per-view. And he's right: humans have a gag reflex. But ducks? Not so. I tried hard to find a good video online of a duck eating fish, but they are all too blurry or too annoying to watch. The closest I came is this video of a cormorant, another migratory waterfowl.

Watch closely as it swallows a spiky fish several times wider than its neck.

Incredible, right? And that, folks, is the reason why ducks don't struggle when a feeding tube deposits food in its throat. Its body is built for exactly the same type of stress in the wild.

Ducks, on the other hand, have completely independent tracheas and esophagi. Their esophagus goes straight from the mouth to the crop, while the trachea runs from the lungs and out the end of the tongue. That's right: Ducks breathe through their tongues. The cartilage that surrounds their trachea (called the tracheal ring) is also a complete circle, as opposed to ours, which is C-shaped, making their trachea much sturdier and less prone to collapse. What this means is that you can place a feeding tube in a ducks throat, and it can sit there indefinitely, neither gagging, nor suffocating.

EDIT: Digging around some more, it looks like there's the usual political nonsense of each side trying to find scientific backup to validate their positions, making it hard to trudge through. Anyone else have any other studies on the subject?

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

Foie Gras all over my face. Gonna motorboat it off the table.

 

[Jumplion]

as opposed to what? slaughter of animals for eating?

I mean, really, if you're against foie gras, you should be against all meat based product because it's not like those other animals had it any easier.

i don't care because the animal is going to die regardless.

Why would being against one method of what many would call inhumane slaughter mean that we couldn't have more humane slaughter for other methods of food production? Just because someone doesn't like one method of production doesn't mean they have to blanketly condemn all forms of production and go vegetarian

I mean, come on, if there was a dish that was prepared via turning a chicken inside-out while it's alive, I think one could probably be against that while still enjoying other meat based products.

Personally, the force-feeding method of foie gras doesn't sit too well with me. I've never had it, don't really plan to, but I can't really imagine the taste really being discernably different to most people between force-fed and regular-fed.

 

[anaron]

Wow, this is disgustingly regressive.

 

[anaron]

sure, then argue it for all animals, instead of one. either save them all, or save none

Dumbest argument ever


I imagine you're not against slave labour because you wear clothing and use technology, right?

 

[hydrophilic attack]

It's animal abuse. But it's also delicious. I'm conflicted.

 

[Dead Man]

as opposed to what? slaughter of animals for eating?

I mean, really, if you're against foie gras, you should be against all meat based product because it's not like those other animals had it any easier.

i don't care because the animal is going to die regardless.

Nice work. You've managed to argue for utter nihilism. Everyone is going to die, why worry any suffering in humans either?

 

[xbhaskarx]

"we expect the 9th Circuit will uphold this law, as it did in the previous round of litigation."

Good.

Awful. It should be banned everywhere.

.

 

[Loomba]

Is it banned in the UK?

The article I'm looking at says it is but when I google it I get prices in £?

 

[lednerg]

There was an episode of This American Life a couple years ago about a farmer in Spain, Eduardo Sousa, who figured out how to get ducks to do this to themselves without forcing them. Basically it had to do with making them feel as free as possible - they'll naturally overeat to the point where they make foie gras on their own. Among expert foodies, what he produced tasted far better than the usual method.

 

[Suikoguy]

There was an episode of This American Life a couple years ago about a farmer in Spain, Eduardo Sousa, who figured out how to get ducks to do this to themselves without forcing them. Basically it had to do with making them feel as free as possible - they'll naturally overeat to the point where they make foie gras on their own. Among expert foodies, what he produced tasted far better than the usual method.

There, a possible solution!

Thanks for posting this though, quite interesting.

 

[Iceternal]

I don't give a shit about this, I will continue to enjoy my delicious foie gras here in France !

And I don't see anyone complaining about the Halal food process ?

 

[gimmmick]

I see this shit every day at work, and go through a loave of foie gras a day since we have it on the menu as an app and side dish.