Posted on 09/24/2004 10:14:41 AM PDT by RetroSexual
Sir Paul McCartney has urged California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to ban the French delicacy foie gras.
The former Beatle appealed to Mr Schwarzenegger in a letter to make California the first state to ban the pate made from geese and duck livers.
Other stars, including Martin Sheen, Kim Basinger and Chrissie Hynde, also urged him to approve a bill to outlaw the sale and production of foie gras
Foie Gras is made by force-feeding the birds to expand their livers.
Sir Paul was asked to write the letter by animal rights group Viva!-USA.
He said: "As you probably know, the public has clearly demonstrated that it supports a ban on this inhumane practice.
"There is clearly nothing humane about mechanically inducing disease in a bird by forcing a pipe down its throat and making it consume such an abnormal quantity of food that its liver expands many times its normal size."
Last month, California's state legislature approved a bill that would outlaw the sale and production of foie gras.
'Cruelty'
The bill is now sitting on Mr Schwarzenegger's desk awaiting his assent.
Sir Paul added: "I feel sure that your natural feelings of compassion will encourage you to sign this basic humane bill into law."
In a separate letter, celebrities including Casey Affleck, Ally Sheedy and Christina Applegate, also urged him to enact the bill.
"It is wrong to subject animals to this kind of cruelty to produce a luxury food item," they said.
Why do you think the two are mutually exclusive?
Umm, if I wouldn't like to get beat up, it is irrational to think my Labrador wouldn't either?
You must have been that kid that liked to pull the wings off flies.
Psst.. If foie gras is outlawed, more for the limousine liberals.
OTHO..What are the Iron Chefs (11:00pm-Food Channel) gonna do?
Who do I support? The billionaire busybody/food nazi or the despised french? This is confusing.
Ah, you're an afficionado of spotted owl liver too? The secret, of course, is to extract the liver from the living bird. An experienced chef can tell by the shrillness of the scream if it's going to be an exceptionally tender, flavorful dining experience.
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Umm, if I wouldn't like to get beat up, it is irrational to think my Labrador wouldn't either?
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What you consider getting beaten up, and what your labrador considers getting beaten up may not be the same, so yes, it is irrational to think that.
I've rough-housed with Doberman's before, and I will tell you now, their idea of playful fun and my idea of playful fun are not the same.
But having said that, your analogy doesn't apply. It's a non sequitir. Nobody is beating up cows or starving chickens for the simple reason that the purpose of livestock is to sell their meat, and it's just stupid business to treat them in a way that spoils the product. So out of nothing more than self-interest, farmers, ranchers and factory farms take better care of their livestock than many people do their pets. Protestations of PETA and militant vegans and emotional freepers notwithstanding.
That poster may be a bit slow to answer. He just got a visit from the viking kitties.
Trip, trap, trip trap...
Is that the one where if you get hurt, and miss work, it won't hurt to miss work? And they give you cash, which is just as good as money? Yogie is a piece of work, isn't he?
Well, lookie here... Heinz is the most global U.S.-based food company, with a world-class portfolio of powerful brands holding number-one and number-two market positions in more than 50 countries. The Heinz brand is a $2.5 billion global icon and Heinz's top-15 power brands account for two-thirds of annual sales.
Snip
In Britain, some of the favorite frozen foods are Weight Watchers® from Heinz; Jane Asher® desserts; and the new Linda McCartney® meat-free entrees.
http://www.heinz.com/jsp/about.jsp
Does Momma T. know that the help is trying to take away her Foie Gras?
Does the goose complain?
I agree. I am very, very pro life but that does not mean that I don't care about decent treatment for animals. I believe that God intended us to eat them but to treat them with respect and care while they live and kill them in the least hurtful way possible and still have decent meat. I really love my dog and cats and am amazed at their desire to be free from hurt and to receive lots of affection. God made them unique and wonderful. When we have reared wild animals that were orphaned they are so playful and cute when they are little and they grow to know us and express delight at seeing us. It is always hard to let them go when the time comes.
There is already a law against animal cruelty and I think this definitely should fall under that law.
It's possible to go to an extreme in the other way on this issue. Because the animal rights crazies have gone to one extreme, there is sometimes a knee jerk reaction to go in the opposite direction. Eating meat is a God-given directive (he killed the first animal in the garden of Eden to cloth Adam and Eve). But God also says that a righteous man considers the welfare of his beast. So, treating animals humanely is a good thing, but so is eating meat.
..Excellent points. :))
There's as much or more foie gras produced in upper New York State's Hudson Valley, than imported, for US consumption.
http://www.hudsonvalleyfoiegras.com/
I love it, but haven't eaten it in years, since finding out the cruel "production methods".
"This on the heels of the California ban on hand-weeding."
What was that all about? I missed that one...
They are not. I'm pro-life for baby humans. I'm switching to a vegetarian diet because I don't wish to eat animal flesh for health and also ethical reasons.
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