I am sure my little rant is going to probably infuriate some of you but I make no apologies for it.
I read yesterday that the York has banned the sale of Foie Gras anywhere in the city.
I uphold the right of any individual to decide what is right for them. Whether it moral, ethical, health of just plain 'I don't like' grounds we all have the option to say 'No'.
But when it comes to being told that a food, produced legally under European law, should be outlawed just because a certain group does not like the method in which it is produced, I think it goes beyond the pale!.
I grant you, some farmers and food producers will use methods that are far from ethical or legal in bringing food to your dinner plate but this happens with all meats.
I recently witnessed a French farmer dragging a young cow across his concrete yard using a tractor and rope tied around it's neck. The cow had it's legs extended in defiance and the hooves scraped the surface of the yard. The farmer was relentless and seemingly not bothered that I had stopped my car to shake a fist at him.
One day, somewhere, that cow will be offered up on a plate with fresh vegetables and a glass of Bergerac red and the recipient would be oblivious to it's treatment that I had witnessed.
Do you remember, when you were at school, being told how the Romans would eat and eat and eat until they were sick and then start all over again?
Before a wild goose or duck takes the very long migratory flap over oceans and mountains it will force feed itself. Gorging day after day on highly nutritious and fatty food in order to make it's own liver swell.
It was a necessary process if the bird were to build up enough reserves to complete the gruelling journey.
The Romans, as well as the ancient Egyptians noticed that the liver was at it's tastiest just before migration and gave the birds that they kept in captivity more food. The birds were happy to eat.
I am not saying that there will not be unscrupulous farmers who are willing to neglect the birds basic needs in the pursuit of profit but I think the argument of banning the foie gras on the basis that it is cruel is fundamentally flawed and while still legal under law it is my view that the do gooders in York are in some kind of breach of consumers rights?
