Ethical eating (From The Argus)

Ethical eating

4:35pm Thursday 29th July 2010 in Your Argus

Yet again the Argus food page in The Guide sees fit to highlight foie gras as a “really special” item on the menu of a restaurant (The Argus, July 23).

The production of foie gras by force-feeding ducks or geese has been banned in this country and many others around the world. The process involves inserting a tube down the bird’s throat and stuffing it with corn, causing the liver to swell to an unnatural size over time. Some livers grow so big they actually rupture.

That some diners can actually choose to savour the fatty smoothness of this dish without any consideration of the pain and discomfort involved in its production beggars belief. And shame on The Argus for continuing to give these restaurants the publicity they don’t deserve. I would ask diners to make the moral decision not to order foie gras and to tell the restaurant why – or better still, don’t frequent them. Only then will they decide not to include it on the menu.

Sue Baumgardt
Stoneham Road, Hove