Having just come back from China, where I saw one or two things that would make your eyes water (see my last post), I’m once again having to defend my position on the relatively harmless farming of ducks and geese for foie gras.
The activists who continue to picket Le Canard restaurant in Wellington are now projecting videos into the restaurant in an effort to harass customers while they enjoy an evening out, which may or may not include eating foie gras at a restaurant that specialises in the cuisine of South-West France – cuisine in which ducks, geese and foie gras have a starring role.
The reason I’m writing what is now my third blog post on this issue is that the activists are being very selective about the information they choose to present. I’d like to redress the balance on behalf of Pascal the chef, who is simply too stressed-out to do so himself, and I’d like to apologise to our long-suffering and loyal customers who are being treated as collateral damage in this campaign. Yes, the activists have a democratic right to protest but they have no moral right to harass our customers.
The videos they are projecting through the windows of the restaurant have been taken from the internet. You can goggle them on YouTube. They were filmed nearly 10 years ago, (before individual battery cages were banned by the EU) and they show the very worst of factory farming – practices and conditions that Le Canard has never condoned. This is like showing images of factory pig farming – sow crates and all – to people who buy ethically-raised pork.
They get away with it because so little is known about foie gras in this country. Indeed, the activists admit they have never seen the gavage (force-feeding) process themselves.
The fact is, there are good and bad farmers. Le Canard buy its foie gras from Rougié, a producer in the Dordogne that sources its foie gras from farms like the one shown in this video.
I believe we should be supporting farmers like these in the same way we support free-range egg farmers. Good farmers like these hate to be associated with the sort of industrial scale farms depicted in the videos selected by the activists. There is a huge difference.
I’ve visited foie gras farms myself and seen the gavage. The photo below shows the geese on a farm near Sorge. They free-range on grass with plenty of food, grain, walnuts and shade. When the farmer comes into the field they run up to greet him.
The last 20 days of their lives are spent in a barn where they are kept in family groups and fed maize porridge(3 times a day) from a pipe that’s inserted down their necks into the crop where digestion takes place. The whole process takes less than 5 seconds and the geese remain perfectly calm throughout. Unlike humans they have no gag reflex.
This is a good farm run by good farmers and it produces good foie gras. Farms that maltreat their birds do not.
But back to the activists who continue to say they are not picking on Le Canard. How else do you explain the fact that Le Canard is the only business they are targeting when there are many others who import, sell or serve foie gras and the associated products of force-fed ducks. (Those imported tins of duck confit contain the legs and thighs of guess what? force-fed ducks.) Where is the consistency in this protest action?
It’s strange too that the activists have taken their protest to the City Market in Wellington, not because the market sells foie gras (it doesn’t) but because Le Canard has an occasional stall there. They would force Pascal out of the market even though the terrines and rillettes he sells are made from New Zealand farmed ducks, which are not force-fed. Work that one out.
It seem clear to me that they are seeking media publicity for their cause by forcing a small French restaurant out of business. So far they’ve managed to attract three newspaper stories in which they vow to continue their bullying until the chef bows to their demands and takes foie gras off the menu.
What should worry fair-minded New Zealanders is that they have picked on such an easy target – a 30 seater restaurant in the middle of a recession. Will they be cheering when they put six people out of work? I’m sure they will.
I look forward to dining at Le Canard when next I am in Wellington. Thanks for your article
Thank you.
Force-feeding is not natural. Fatty livers due to over-feeding is not healthy. Anyone who puts their taste pleasure above humanity should be ashamed. There’s plenty of fabulous food to be had with creating suffering. There’s no excuse for foie gras.
(And please, before you fob me off as being a “crazy activist, I’ll just tell you I’m an educated veterinarian.)
but not good at forming sentences. I think I understand what you’re trying to say.
It makes me sad and angry every time I read about these short-sighted protestors. There are far greater things they could be using their energy on to protest about in NZ than one restaurant (of many) that serve foie gras on their menu.
What about the fact NZ is only banning sow crates from 2015 when other parts of the world have long since banned them, the fact that only a handful of McD and BK restaurants are using free-range eggs, the fact you can often buy better quality lamb in the UK for half the price, the list goes on and on.
I wonder how many of the protestors consume other forms of food that were produced using less than satisfactory methods.
Personally I am not a huge fan of foie gras but it is more down to taste than ethics and it is my choice not to eat it. They say it is their democratic right to protest about this but what about my right to chose whether or not I want to eat a certain product?
The fact that you have done the research and been to see where the foie gras is produced makes me think if I were to want some then Le Canard would be a place where I would eat it. When I got out to any restaurant, unless I know that the chicken is at least free-range then I will not order the dish (and I am a huge chicken fan). The world would be a better place if more people took a interest again in where their food actually came from and what actually goes in to producing it.
Although they don’t sound like type open to listening to other peoples comments, has anybody tried showing the protestors the facts and images of where the foie gras Le Canard uses comes from?
Sadly, I don’t think they want to know – as in, don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.
I appreciate the attempt to provide facts to consumers who have been following this issue. However, I feel there are a few problems which have been inadequately addressed:
Rougié does not state on its website that all its product is free range or have any guarantee about the welfare of the birds. You provide one supplier as an example when there may be others that use inferior practices….
This is typical of the misinformed comment repeated by the foie gras activists. Rougié has a charter that is clearly presented on its website Rougié Charter
The relevant points are covered as follows:
Our ducklings are raised on free-range farms in the west and south-west of France.
We select our own partner breeders and regularly inspect their farms according to our specifications.
We restrict the number of ducks per farm according to its size to ensure harmonious growth and development.
The video I have posted is an example of a Rougié supplier, one of many who are regularly audited as you will note if you can find it on the website. It is not in the company’s interests to use suppliers who don’t comply.
The rest of your comments have been adequately dealt with in my three posts.
I, too, look forward to dining at your restaurant when I visit Wellington later this year.
I hope this wasn’t taken as sarcasm or anything malicious, by the way! I’m genuinely looking forward to it! 🙂
No, not at all! I’m really pleased you want to eat at Le Canard. The publicity has been in good in some ways, we have had a lot of new customers and our regulars have been very supportive. I do hope you enjoy it.
‘No moral right’
Sorry, but I don’t think you know the meaning of the word moral unless you are using it out of context to be deliberately ironic? How is protesting about one dish going to force him out of business? The same way that protesting about palm oil forced Nestle out of business? Get a grip.
How on earth can you compare a 30-seater restaurant with one of the biggest multi-national food businesses on the planet? This is typical of one or two other comments that I’m ignoring
This just came up in my twitter feed which was interesting timing. It is writers commentary on the foie gras ban in the States and include 2 clips from Dan Barber and Anthony Bourdin.
http://www.thewanderingpalate.com/produce/crise-de-foie-%E2%80%9Cnothing-is-more-delicious-than-that-which-is-forbidden%E2%80%9D/
Forget fois gras, what I think animal activists need to address is the NZ ‘fat dog’ issue. As a farmer (ge free, certified organic, morally superior, no duck livers here) my farm dogs meet the lean and mean code. Fat dogs are actually abused and living in probably more discomfort than the ducks or geese and no I’m not joking!
love the comment! My dog is lean and mean too – he can just get through the cat flap, the day he gets stuck is the day he goes on a diet.
Fat dogs are unhealthy and will likely live shorter lives, its true. Bug suggesting they’re more uncomfortable than an animal that is force-fed until their livers are diseased is unfathomable.
once again, livers are not diseased, they are fattened.
Thank you for adding thoughtfulness and facts to the conversation. The nuances in the issue are too often lost. I posted on my discussions with small-scale foie gras producers in southeastern France, on my Wandering Ecovore blog at http://terroirtraveller.com/
I enjoyed reading your post. Your foie gras farmers are similar to those I’ve met in the South West of France.
Anna, you lose credibility by not publishing ALL comments regarding this issue.
I was waiting for this. Firstly, there is nothing new in the comments I get from anti-foie gras activists. The comments you refer to repeat the same arguments that have already been aired in my posts. Secondly, some have been personal attacks. Thirdly, the anti-foie gras activists have chosen their platform, on the pavement outside our restaurant. I see no reason to give them additional space on my blog.
Thank you for addressing this. The single minded judgements from those who only wish to view one kind of parctice is incredibly dishearting.
these Protersters should perhaps be given information on NZ Fisheries or NZ caged Pig farming in order to vent there frustrations with cruelty – plenty of fodder and people acutally causing harm there!