The Foie Gras Wars: How a 5,000-Year-Old Delicacy Inspired the World's Fiercest Food Fight [Paperback]

I was pleasantly surprised when reading The Foie Gras Wars at how informative the book was. Having taken many Animal Science, Animal Morality, Species Dissection, and even a Meat Processing class in college, I was expecting The Foie Gras Wars to be a watered down or highly biased "layman's version" of what is really going on in the meat processing industry. It was not.

Mark Caro did a good job of remaining relatively unbiased regarding the moral practices of creating Foie Gras. He gave a detailed history of the delicacy, a startlingly frank explanation of how the animals are force fed into having these giant livers, and the standpoints of many famous chefs on whether or not they would serve this controversial dish. I was so intrigued that I even went online to find videos of Foie Gras production. Some were shocking, while others showed humane treatment of the animals.

While the book does get slow at several points, I believe the information was pertinent. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a glimpse into one small section of the meat processing industry. Recommended.

It's rare that I read a book, and decide I need to develop a university course. The Foie Gras Wars, by Mark Caro, inspired me to do so.

The fatty liver of a force-fed duck or goose, foie gras (Caro notes the correct pronunciation is "fwah grah") is a speciality food item in the United States, but a rather common food item in France. The "foie gras wars" are not an anti-French action spawned by the creators of "Freedom fries," but rather a very focused campaign by animal activists and supporters of the humane treatment of agricultural animals toward this one food production system: the practice of stuffing a tube into the gullets of captive ducks and geese and forcing them to consume more food than they would under "natural" conditions (even in captivity) until they have an extremely fatty liver, affecting even their ability to waddle normally, then being slaughtered and packaged for up-scale restaurants (in the U.S.).

The book begins with the story of well-known Chicago chef Charlie Trotter speaking out against foie gras. What made foie gras different than veal, chickens, or bacon? Caro states the attention given to foie gras as a unique food niche was for the following reasons:

- it has a funny French name,
- it is enjoyed by the relatively affluent,
- it remains unknown to the average Tyson chicken eater,
- it is LIVER, and
- it is made from ducks. "We like ducks."

And, of course, the ducks and geese were force-fed. Foie gras promoter Michael Ginor stated "I would think that any animal that's economically grown suffers some. There's no question that the duck on day 28 of [force] feeding is not as happy as a duck that hasn't been fed. But the question then does become: How does that duck feel compared to, let's say, a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy? I don't think that there's ever a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy who's really psyched about that day" (p. 46). And Grammy-nominated musician Moby, who works with The Humane Society of the United States, thinks that there are more pressing animal welfare needs than foie gras. But, Moby claims, "Like insofar as pot is a gateway drug to harder drugs, banning foie gras to me is like a gateway issue to get people to evaluate their eating habits, kind of like the way veal was... The means of production are so repulsive and so profoundly unethical that once your general consumer becomes aware of it, they'll never eat foie gras again" (p. 112).

And what did Chicago Mayor Daley think when an ordinance was passed banning the sale of foie gras? "I think it's the silliest law that they've ever passed" (p. 142). Ironically, the law banned the sale of a force-fed duck's liver, but not the rest of the bird. The law was later rescinded.

So author Caro travels to France to seek out the origins of this food. He concludes that the French do not fear people making the connection between an animal and food as do American consumers. "[I]n America, it's not good that people realize that what they have on their plate is coming from the farm," stated one French foie gras exporter. In France, "People don't want to be told what to eat," said a French anti-foie gras activist. Instead, activists groups like Stop Gavage focus on culture: "How on earth can you say that a barbaric custom, consisting of sticking a funnel or a pneumatic pump down the throat of a caged animal, is a tradition of high culture?" (p. 275, Antoine Comiti).

What does Caro think? "Slaughter happens." "Food isn't just fuel. It's a source of pleasure, and if some people love foie gras the way others love chicken nuggets, who are we to say one dish is frivolous while the other is acceptable? At the same time, the fact that some chefs can prepare fantastic foie gras dishes has no bearing on whether the birds are treated humanely" (p. 280-281). In other words, it's complicated. But he admits, "Truth be told, my diet had become decidedly less healthy since I'd begun my immersion into the world of foie gras" (p. 317). His doctor, after checking Caro's cholesterol levels, was more blunt: "You're done eating foie gras." Caro didn't argue.

At the beginning of this book, probably during the first chapter, I was already wondering how Caro was going to write an entire book on this one issue. By the end, I felt I had a deeper, richer understanding of foie gras production, the arguments both for and against its production and use, its history, and some of the politics of food choices. I think that this was Caro's goal for the reader.

And I don't think Caro would argue.

Note on reviewer (my bias): I am a foodie and a meat eater.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mark Caro's assessment of the Foie Gras situation. That's the best way to describe it: "The Foie Gras Situation". Because, as Mark points out, this is about more than eating the livers (and thereby bodies) of force-fed ducks. This is about really thinking about what it means to be a connessoir.

Marc begins the book by talking about how Foie Gras first came to controversy in Chicago. Then he goes through a brief history of the dish, dating back to ancient Egyptian times. Following that he explores the different methods of creating it, and gives even handed voice to both the farmers who produce it as well as the activists who wish to stop it. He examines the information and misinformation produced by both sides.

It seems like most of the Foie Gras farmers will be the first to admit that this "new" dish to the modern pallet went through some growing pains. This new industry has to learn things like "cages=bad" and different feeding methods that could be less stressful to the animals.

The author goes through details of variety of movements to ban Foie Gras, as well as attempts to keep the small farmers viable. I ended the book pretty much in the same boat as the author. I'm not not sure what to think. This is not because force feeding could be considered "cruel", no matter how much pain is taken to reduce the the stress on the animal. The conflict comes because any form of animal eating is going to be considered "cruel" to a certain extent; and some forms (such as egg or milk production...things that most vegetarians eat, BTW) are even worse.

What any meat eater needs to remember is that they need to thank the animal activists for making sure that their food (duck) is being raised in clean and as-humane-as-possible environment. A healthy environment means healthy (and better tasting) food. This is a good thing.

What the activists need to remember is that their lifestyle choice is a belief. It is a dogma, and the more they try to push their beliefs on others; the more backlash they will receive. The activist groups openly admit that they are focusing on Foie Gras because it is a small and easy target on their route to ban all meat. It reminds me tactics used in the 80's when Tipper Gore and the PMRC tried to fine and ban independent label punk bands instead of artists on Sony or Warner because it was "economically viable to our interests". Their goal was to harass small labels and then move on to the majors. The activists say they target Foie Gras as a small goal, and then they'll have a foothold to go after major "factory farms".

This brings us to foodie dilemma: 1) to be a foodie one must enjoy the best of all flavors and tastes available prepared in the most wonderful ways. 2) to be a foodie one is concerned with the production and care taken to produce the ingredients that go into their meals (e.g. is it from local organic produce? is it "real" kobe beef which comes from cows receiving a daily brush and massage? etc.). So what does the foodie do when 1 and 2 come into conflict? I don't think we know that answer to that. I do know that it will be a sad day if people can no longer have [name withheld because I don't want the chef to get protested]'s "prune stuffed gnocchi in foie gras sauce", a dish that I have had pleasant dreams about after first tasting. If one is decidedly a confirmed omnivore, these are the questions they must ask themselves and come to terms with. Being a conscious eater doesn't lesson the experience, and it does not mean that one should be guilty or sorrowful for embracing human nature (once again: omnivore). If anything, it can make eating an even better experience to appreciate what is on the plate, instead of just shoveling the food in our mouths.

I highly recommend this book, filled with (forgive me) food for thought.