Austin Activists Work Toward Ban of Foie Gras in Restaurants

The animal rights activists are at it again. Taking a cue from Chicago, where the sale of foie gras has been banned in city restaurants, Austin activists have been threatening to picket restaurants that serve this 2500-year old delicacy. To make matters worse, they’ve actually managed to get a few of our best Austin restaurants to cave in on this and take foie gras off the menu.

I am appalled by these strong-arm tactics and even more upset that some restaurants are bowing to the pressure. The facts are simple. To get their livers to grow unnaturally larger in a relatively short period, geese and ducks are fed a very rich diet through feeding tubes. Activists claim this is barbaric. Perhaps. But who is to say that the geese and ducks don’t enjoy being fed this way?

And unless I’m missing something, are not all these animals ultimately heading for the chopping block anyway? Why must we go through this posturing and angst over being “humane” when the animal’s end is a certainty?

And if we give in on foie gras, what’s next? Veal, cabrito, lobsters placed in boiling water, sushi? What about prying clams or oysters open with a knife? How about the way cows are fed to induce marbling? Or the way chickens are raised? Shall we be forced to eschew all these foods because someone is offended? If this keeps up, all that will be correct to consume will be the greens from Granny’s garden. While that may make a number of animal activists happy, it will really piss me off.

Right now, we humans are at the top of the food chain. In the next thousand years, we may be in for a rude surprise. So let’s enjoy it while we can. I heartily support the continued sale of foie gras in Austin restaurants. And I enthusiastically support your right not to dine any restaurant if you are offended by the presence of foie gras. But to force restaurants to ban it? Let’s deep six this heavy-handed attempt at bringing social change by picketing offending restaurants.

That does not mean that I mistreat my dog or beat my cat. I love animals: and I’m particularly fond of the ones we traditionally don’t eat.

What do you think? Should foie gras be banned in Austin?