According to an article posted at the Fox News website on July twenty-fourth, the City of Chicago has enacted a ban on serving Foie Gras in restaurants. I absolutely do not subscribe to the views of those who claim we should stop eating meat altogether. In the case of Foie Gras however, I am inclined to agree. It’s one thing to kill and butcher an animal for food. A dead animal doesn’t feel any pain. It’s something else entirely when we torture an animal for days or weeks before killing it.
Let’s compare…
I enjoy venison, and I don’t mind going out early on a cold morning to get it. Do I torture the deer? No. I hit him with a high velocity round that drops him in his tracks. He never knew what hit him. Thus, I have not dragged Bambi to a torture chamber and tormented him. The deer dies much more quickly and cleanly than he would have if attacked by wolves or a panther.
On the other hand, Foie Gras is prepared by unnaturally enlarging the livers of ducks and geese specifically to cause an illness known as hepatic steatosis. This is done by force-feeding them with a tube. The birds often become so bloated they can’t move, and investigators have reportedly even seen a duck being eaten alive by rats because it couldn’t move to escape them. In many cases the birds’ stomachs literally burst open.
A visit to the appropriate websites reveals images of ducks and geese with gaping wounds caused from ruptured organs, rat attacks, or maggot infestation. Other birds die from choking on their own vomit after having been force fed so much grain that their bodies simply rebel. They’re trapped inside tiny, feces-coated cages and often die of disease before they’re slaughtered.
Similar mistreatment can be found in the production of American milk-fed veal. In Europe, calves are allowed to suckle their mothers for a few days. They’re then quickly slaughtered for the tender veal. There is little if any suffering on the part of the calf.
In the USA it’s a different story. Calves are trapped in tiny (30” by 72”) enclosures to restrict movement. This is so that the calves can’t develop red muscle tissue. They’re fed an anemic mix of nutrient-poor liquids and high does of antibiotics. The latter is to fight the various infections – many dangerous to humans – that result from the constant diarrhea after being intentionally fed a diet devoid of iron. The calves’ often end up literally coated in their own feces. They’re also kept in absolute darkness 22 hours per day and suffer from swollen leg joints and atrophied muscle tissue.
And unlike European (mainly French) milk-fed veal, the calves aren’t slaughtered after only a week or two. The whole purpose behind the American method is to keep the calf alive for 16 to 23 weeks before it’s slaughtered. The calf grows larger, producing more veal and therefore more profit to the farmer.
So… am I advocating a total switch to vegetarianism for Americans? Nope. As a matter of fact I plan to head out to Popeye’s in a couple of hours for some spicy chicken. And I’ll eat it guilt-free. If PETA and other animal rights organizations had their way, we wouldn’t even be allowed to have dairy products. PETA’s stand on animal cruelty is the opposite extreme to those who advocate shoving a pipe down a bird’s throat to produce a tasty hors d’oeuvre.
What I am saying is that we can do better. The process of preparing meat for the market is going to involve some pain somewhere down the line, but as a supposedly civilized culture we should take steps to ensure that animals are protected from the sort of abuse described above. You don’t have to have Foie Gras to survive. Milk-fed veal isn’t a requirement for a healthy diet.
And I, for one, can more thoroughly enjoy my meal if I’m eating it with a clear conscience. Foie Gras should be banned worldwide. Milk-fed veal should be produced naturally, rather than turning a calf’s short life into a nightmare of darkness and pain. Want a tasty hors d’oeuvre? Try cheese on a Ritz.
Related Reading:Alan Burkhart is a freelance political writer, cross-country trucker, and proud citizen of the reddest of the Red States - Mississippi.
