Women in France–Especially in Foie Gras Country–Are Living Longer!
Women in France–Especially in Foie Gras Country–Are Living Longer!
Helene Vialard is 100-years-old. This is not a rare occurrence among women in France. There are thousands of centenarians there, especially in the southwest’s Midi-Pyrenees region which is famous for its fatty foie gras-made from the livers of overfed ducks and geese. And guess what: Helene drinks red wine, and perish the thought, indulges in foie gras. (As recently reported in the Washington Post.)
You’ve recently read in this blog about my unfettered annoyance with animal rights activists who are vandalizing Austin restaurants for refusing to stop selling foie gras. Well if my first and most transparent reason wasn’t enough for my militant PETA friends–that we humans are at the top of the food chain and thus have a certain prerogative-(I believe the bible refers to it as dominion over the beasts of the field) then let’s look at the possible health issues here. While the results have yet to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine, imagine if these early reports cited above are scientifically verified and consumption of foie gras is found to be correlated to increased human longevity. What then oh noble protectors of ducks and geese?
I can see the lines forming now at Central Market’s gourmet foods section. Hell, drug stores will be selling extract of foie gras in capsule form. And picketing offending restaurants or committing random acts of vandalism: well that will be a dim memory at best. It’s funny how the possible extension of our own lives can cause a seismic shift in some attitudes.
