Foie gras - "Oh, the humanity!"

Foie gras has a real knack for stirring up a hornet's nest of trouble, especially out here on the West coast.  Since the last post, I thought I might be able to help those who love foie gras but hate the hate.  I'm not even going to venture into the issue of animals for consumption, that's your business, and this discussion is going on the assumption that if you are preparing foie gras, you must be ok with eating animals.

I love foie gras, and I love animals - I even love some animals I love to eat.  When Carla and I were in Peru, we loved running into the gentle and loveable alpacas, hanging out with them and petting them.  If I saw alpaca on the menu in a restaurant, no question I was going to order it - they are way too delicious and just not available at home.  So where does this leave my morality?  Well, the way I see it, if an animal is going to give its life for our consumption, the least we can do is treat it nicely while it's alive, and slaughter it when the time comes with a little compassion - besides, the adrenalin that is released when an animal realizes the end is near doesn't taste good and compromises the texture of the meat.  I always put a lobster to sleep before doing the deed - it's just good cooking.  In this respect, I am in full agreement with those that oppose the traditional force feed method of raising the geese for foie gras, what with the tiny cages, funnels and "acceptable" numbers of blown out gullets.  But there is an alternative.

True Kobe beef cattle are regularly checked by physicians, generally coddled and treated like one of the family.  There is a farmer on Vancouver Island known for having his Berkshire pigs follow him about he property as he goes about his daily business - you can imagine they must be shown a little respect once their time comes.  More and more geese farmers are following a similar tactic.  The geese have a free reign to move about the farm and are treated to a non- stop buffet of nutritious food they love.  Sure they overeat, that's the point isn't it?  The difference is as far as they are concerned, their life (albeit shortened) is one of abundance.  As you might guess, the livers produced are smaller, but this also has a way of servicing the consumer.

Ideally, you would always research your farmers before you buy foie gras, but sometimes you might just have to take a stab at it.  It has been observed that in cases of voluntary overeating, goose livers max out around the 500 gram mark - some restaurants have actually taken the policy of not accepting any livers larger than that.  If you are comparing suppliers, see if one is predominantly 500 grams and below, as opposed to others that tend to be 750 grams and up.  If you have no other information available, go with the smaller lobes.  Have a heart, and vote with your wallet.