Text 687, 36 rader
Skriven 2008-01-13 14:43:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av BARBARA MCNAY
Ärende: Kobe beef 683
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 -=> Barbara Mcnay said to Jim Weller <=-

 BM> I take it you like foie gras.  How does it differ from an ordinary
 BM> goose liver? And what is unnatural about the way veal is raised?

Foie gras (French for "fat liver") is made by a process called
gavage (translated by those who wish to put a spin on things
as "force-feeding"), where a funnel is stuck into the mouths
of the birds (geese or, more commonly these days, ducks) and a
large amount of feed is poured directly into the stomach. This
may seem cruel and unusual, but eyewitnesses (including our
own Ian, who resurfaces on the echo periodically, especially
when controversial food cop topics come up) say that there is
no evidence that the birds don't enjoy the experience - in
fact, they come up without any prompting to be fed, every day.
By this process, a sort of cirrhosis is induced, and the
livers become enlarged and fatty; from a food standpoint they
acquire a texture more like butter than any fleshly thing and
an indescribably unctuous flavor to match. A food I like very
much but cannot say I need very often, which is good, as the
price is through the roof.

Veal can be raised any number of ways, but most objectionable
is the factory farming (featured in early PETA ads and the
like), where the calves are separated into tiny pens that
prevent them from moving (exercise toughens the flesh) and
lead a short hellish life, being fed a diet scientifically
designed to promote fast growth and wallowing in their own
waste. The picture of calves and lambs gambolling in the
field is a pretty one but not economically realistic - there
are no doubt such farms, but the veal you get at the market
likely does not come from them.

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