Thomas Keller Comments On Planned Foie Gras Protests Outside His Restaurants

Grub Street New York:

The Animal Protection and Rescue League, which previously protested against Momofuku and outside of Telepan, is now targeting the big kahuna, Thomas Keller. Duck defender Bryan Pease tells us that this Saturday his people will be waddling outside of Per Se (at noon), French Laundry (at 7:30 p.m.), and Bouchon in Beverly Hills (also at 7:30 p.m.). When we asked Keller's rep for his thoughts, we got the following statement....

Read the whole story: Grub Street New York

Comments

[dubious63]

12:17 PM on 05/15/2010

I've read through all the posts here and have had my thoughts about the "vegan" practitioners confirmed in spades. It's religion pure and simple. As another poster called them "vegangelicals" (love it)!

Their religiosity in regards to food lifts them up above the rest of us. Their religious convictions make them morally superior. Their superiority puts them on ethically higher ground that allows them to look down upon the rest of us. As meat eating pagans, in this religious battle, we need to be vanquished in order for them lord over us.

They seem and sound as crazed in their fundamentalism as any pompous right-wing Christian zealot, radicalized Jew or follower of a crazed Islamic sect. Everyone else is wrong regardless of their arguments or life experiences. All must conform to their beliefs either through persuasion or legislation!

I seems to me that what veganism, or any religiosity for that matter, bequeaths to the believer is a superiority over the non-believer.

Read the posts and tell me I'm wrong...

[thundermummy]

03:30 PM on 05/16/2010

You are not wrong, you are fanned.

[LAJoe]

05:32 AM on 05/14/2010

I've known about Foie Gras for some time but must admit I've never tried it. I know the waiting list at French Laundry is really long, but now I really want to give it a shot. I don't think I would have given it a second thought before this article. I'm also curious if the Chinese astronauts feel that the dog meat they ate in space was any better than normal dog meat. Does a zero gravity vacuum improve or harm the taste? I wonder about Foie Gras in space?

[rekk]

10:34 AM on 05/12/2010

This is the problem with American cuisine. We do not know how to ENJOY ourselves. All food has to be based on ethics or religion or sustenance and not on PLEASURE. I am not saying that you MUST eat foie gras to have PLEASURE in eating, but I am saying that we ought to lighten up about the issue of meat versus plant. It is all ENJOYABLE and PLEASURABLE if we treat our foods, our lives and our planet with respect. In France, farms are owned by families and the produce is all local, all the time. "Free-range" has no translation because if it's been raised on a farm, there is no reason to call it "free-range". The enemy is not foie gras, but how we treat our land and our farmers.

[Veritas 1]

12:13 PM on 05/11/2010

I always get a good laugh out of reading the comments section of articles like this. Thanks vegetarians!

[SpoonPlayer]

02:42 PM on 05/13/2010

Are you implying that the vegetarians contributing their thoughts here are so simple-minded that they are amusing to you? If so, I certainly don't understand why you would make such a mean-spirited remark. Clearly, foie gras is a touchy issue for many vegetarians because its method of production seems particularly cruel (like veal raised in confinement crates or hens kept in battery cages) and its primary producer here in the US (Hudson Valley Foie Gras) has a dismal environmental record, even by factory farm standards.

You may disagree with the idea that animals deserve humane treatment before slaughter or that farms must abide by federal environmental standards when disposing of fecal and slaughter waste, but you needn't belittle those who make cogent arguments. Surely that is a weak defense against having to make a more thoughtful rebuttal, and defensiveness is the root of anti-vegetarian sentiment.

As any vegetarian will tell you, even the slightest, most non-chalant, non-judgemental mention of vegetarianism will drive some otherwise thoughtful intellects into rambling, angry diatribes about PETA or a mythical vegan villain who is going to pry the porkchop out of their cold, dead hands. In all my life as a vegan, I've never met a SINGLE "militant" vegan (an oxymoron), but I have met dozens of omnivores who've called me immature, irrational, eating-disordered, crazy, anti-American, arrogant, self-righteous, and un-christian. Yet ironically, they feel "persecuted" by vegetarians.

[CrankyGal]

09:12 PM on 05/10/2010

Hhhhhmmmm, foie gras. Yummmmmmm.

To all the food police: stop telling the rest of us what to eat.

I know how it's made and NO I don't care. I also don't care how anyone else feels about it.

Choose for yourself and leave the rest of us alone to do the same.

[CheechandBruno]

01:34 PM on 05/11/2010

Man, you ARE a cranky one, maybe eat some carbs instead?

[Louisknyc]

01:53 PM on 05/11/2010

CrankyGal: Maybe you should suffer some as these animals do...see what happens to your nonchalance then. You don't care. Thanks for the letting the world know how "inhuman" some people can be.

[drumsgirl]

06:48 AM on 05/13/2010

It's an animal. Grown for the purpose of food. Humans are not. It's not inhuman to eat animals, especially ones grown for that purpose.

[Americatheteenager]

05:11 PM on 05/14/2010

I wonder if you came up with that thought about the geese's suffering over a burger...

[liarsclub75]

08:49 PM on 05/10/2010

There is a farm in Spain, where they do not force feed the birds. I heard their foie gras is very good. I've only had it once. It's not really the healthiest thing to eat.

[alieninvader]

01:03 PM on 05/10/2010

When did the question "Do I really need this" leave our venacular? Cruelty debate aside, we do not need to eat foie gras. Global climate change debate aside, we do not need to drive a huge SUV. Health debate aside, we do not need to eat a supersized double fried chicken sandwich with bacon, cheese and mayonnaisey stuff, french fries and a coke the size of a person's thigh.

We've become a society that says "me first and the rest of the universe can be da.mn.ed". Why can't we just err on the side of caution...if it might hurt the climate, don't do it unless you really need to. If it might hurt an animal, don't eat it or wear it unless you really need to.

By asking myself if I need it, I've managed to live on $20k less per year, while saving money and I've lost weight. Yes, I am a vegetarian, but I'm not vegan.

[Libertyfan]

05:16 PM on 05/10/2010

Why not err on the side of moderation. If I want to eat foie gras once in a blue moon, the environment will not suffer and neither will I. If I want an unhealthy fast food treat once a month, no harm no foul.

[alieninvader]

05:26 PM on 05/10/2010

An animal's lifetime of suffering is a very high price to pay for a few minutes of your enjoyment.

[Uproar]

10:59 AM on 05/12/2010

Americans tend to not err on the side of moderation, but on the side of excess.

[drumsgirl]

06:50 AM on 05/13/2010

Do you really need a shower every day? Do you really ever need an orgasm? Do you really need more than 1 pair of shoes? How sad and boring going through every day only having what you need.

[LAJoe]

05:54 AM on 05/14/2010

I agree. I don't need this body. I don't need this mind, which means I need nothing. Not food, clothing, shelter, air...nothing. The what IF'S aren't NOW and the 'what if' scenarios are endless fear thinking. My so-called needs are what I've been told by others that I need.

If I enjoy an apple or a duck's liver it's with enormous appreciation for what the universe is providing in this moment, right now!

Don't get this twisted, it's not living FOR the moment it's living completely IN the moment. Heaven on Earth, indeed!

[DSizzle]

01:43 AM on 05/10/2010

The headline of this article on the main page betrays Huffpo's bias against animal rights. The article it links to says nothing like "You can't be serious." Also, why not a picture of a duck being force fed in order to engorge her liver instead of a plate in a restaurant that does not portray the actual story. Is this a news site or an advertisement?

[SpoonPlayer]

12:48 AM on 05/10/2010

Although vegans and animal rights folks are often maligned, environmentalism is certainly trendy at the moment, and I am sure that many foie gross eaters consider themselves the "green" sort. For that reason I think its timely to mention that Hudson Valley Foie Gras (the largest foie gras factory farm in the US) was just ordered the pay an enormous fine for numerous violations against the Federal Clean Water Act.

So long as people are willing to excuse cruelty to gratify their taste for a luxury product that I'm sure most people have never even tried, Hudson Valley Foie Gras will continue to dodge regulations and pull in a profit while destroying the environment. I am so glad I was blessed with more self-control and integrity than those who still find a way to excuse this reprehensible practice.

[Opti]

11:14 AM on 05/09/2010

Yum.

Obviously, there are moral issues around the consumption of any sentient being. But foie gras is no better or worse than any other meat we eat. It certainly doesn't deserve to be singled out as the height of cruelty as these simplistic protesters are trying to do.

Instead of attacking responsible chef/owners for serving a fairly uncommon specialty food with a millenia-old history, why not focus on mega-agro? Tyson chickens would be a much better target, IMHO.

[AndishehNick]

10:48 AM on 05/09/2010

Foie Gras is not a true food.
It is a fatty liver (disease) with infection of ducks and birds. The fatty liver disease of birds is similar to human fatty liver disease.
These poor animals are kept in crowded conditions and suffer immensely traumatic forced-feeding process and disregard for the pain. These poor animals are forced to eat lots of fat by tube. They are suffering from infection and bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract.
This continues until they die. Then fatty liver of suffered and patient birds is used for the foie gras production.
So extreme form of animal cruelty is the way that foie gras is produced

This food can cause serious diseases:

1-Because of animals suffer, a lot of toxins (oxidants) are produced in their body and these toxins can lead to cancer in human body. Any animal suffering release oxidants as carcinogenic factors and these carcinogens can be transmitted to human body by eating meat or tissues of suffered animal.

2-these birds are neglected and infected and their liver is filled with harmful fats (VLDL, LDLC, and other bad cholesterol) that lead to cardiovascular disease and stroke in human.

But people are free to choose healthy foods or those with risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke or cancer.
Thus:
As a producer please stop producing Foie Gras
As a customer please do not select the foie gras in the menu of restaurants.

[SusanElizabeth1949]

01:35 PM on 05/09/2010

And your source for your claims regarding health? Migratory birds gorge on food before their migrations, the fat is stored in the liver. Their biology is not the biology of humans.

[sisyphus93]

09:44 PM on 05/09/2010

They don't gorge to the degree that geese are force-fed to produce fg.

[Americatheteenager]

05:14 PM on 05/14/2010

I wonder how I managed to survive years of eating foie gras despite the great dangers! Oh, and by the way, the infected birds must be in your mind since you are not basing this on any facts... As a fellow human being, please do not tell me what to eat!

[berrynoir]

04:47 PM on 05/08/2010

I live in New York and have visited the Hudson Valley foie gras farm that produces much of the product eaten in this country. I was more conflicted on the issue prior to my visit - which was unexpected.

First, the ducks are free-range. They seem happy and healthy and leading MUCH better lives than any cow, pig, chicken or sheep in one of our nation's "industry" farms. They are lively - the idea that their liver is so engorged they cannot move is completely untrue.

Second, at feeding time, they RUN to get fed. It's the highlight of their day. They're pushing and shoving each other to get to the guy with the corn. Yes, it gets poured down their throats - but they raise their heads up eagerly and are in no was being "forced".

I am an animal lover. And I was surprised by what I saw - and pleased. The people working at the farm and the ducks co-exist in a way that is much healthier than the big industrial farms - the ducks run up to their owners to be petted, and for their food.

If you're a vegetarian, ok...don't eat foie gras, feel entitled to denounce it. But if you eat supermarket meat, you are shoveling forkfuls of cruelty and animal misery into your mouths, much more so than if you are having the foie gras.

[sisyphus93]

09:45 PM on 05/09/2010

What about when their livers are removed? Do they RUN to that, too?

[SusanElizabeth1949]

10:24 PM on 05/09/2010

No, they just lay there as they were dead before the livers were removed.

[SpoonPlayer]

01:54 AM on 05/10/2010

Just wondering if you also saw the manure and "slaughter waste" that they will now have to pay $25,000 per day for continuing to dump into the Middle Mongaup River as of the May 6th court order? I only ask because people tend to see what they want to see...Hudson Valley Foie Gras is a factory farm with a horrible environmental record, but by all means, continue to eat their foie gras and convince yourself that it is humane, even if local families must continue to contend with a fecal-contaminated well water.

[Pema]

01:22 PM on 05/08/2010

wow he keeps within legal madates..hey Thomas Keller! legal mandates for farm animals sux! i live in california and we fight constantly to get decent laws for pets to farm animals. legal mandates even for progressive california stink.

[SneathLane]

11:11 AM on 05/08/2010

The biology of goose livers has been thoroughly studied and documented. The swollen liver that results from eating lots of bugs and grain and all is an evolutionary adaptation that gives them enough stored energy to migrate for thousands of miles. It's not a disease, its a part of their normal biology. Not normal for humans, but normal for geese.

Geese, like all domesticated animals, should be treated humanely. Treating them humanely does not mean treating them like humans, though. Pouring grain into a human through a funnel would be torture. Pouring grain into a goose feels, to the goose, like you are taking all the work out of gorging itself, and it instinctively gorges itself whenever there's lots of food around.

There are lots of terrible farming practices that need to be stopped. But pouring grain down geese's throats (they line up for it at feeding time on farms where they are allowed to wander about) is not, in and of itself, a painful or unhealthy thing for the geese.

This does not fit into the belief systems of people who anthropomorphize cute animals, but biology doesn't care whether or not you think geese are just little, feathery humans. Biology responds to evolutionary forces, and generates animals which fit their ecological niche. And in this case, biology makes geese grow yummy livers when they gorge themselves.

[Pema]

01:26 PM on 05/08/2010

anthromorphize. i doubt you realize that is what has started many animal rights camapigns. we dont them as things.i find it a bit disturbing that people have jumped the shark to realizing most animals have complex emotional structures so they feel deeply, sadness, loss, anger. ever see an angry goose anyone? i am sure if you were looked at as a food source or a beast of burden you might have more compassion for the fauna.

[SneathLane]

02:32 PM on 05/08/2010

But I know I'm a food source. I'm nibbled on by billions of bacteria and millions of mites and other tiny animals every day. Viruses hijack and then destroy my cells until my immune system fights them off.

However I die - killed by human violence, or by some accident, or by microorganisms - I'll end up digested and incorporated into other living things, both animals and plants.

I think geese should be well treated while they are alive, and some of them should also be given large amounts of grain to make those yummy livers - and then they should be killed quickly so we can eat them.

We all get killed and eaten - sometimes it's a gooses turn, sometimes it's a human's. Did you think you'd live forever?

[Imasqre]

10:24 AM on 05/09/2010

No. SneathLane was right.

anthropomorphize.

[pulmonary something]

02:13 AM on 05/08/2010

I love chicken liver, but I once had Foie Gras and was violently ill for the rest of my evening. I was hugging the toilet bowl. It just felt so toxic.

[SusanElizabeth1949]

07:18 PM on 05/10/2010

It is very rich, and if you are more then a small amount it could well have upset your gall bladder. I did that to myself once on Cantonese roast suckling pig.

[Americatheteenager]

05:20 PM on 05/14/2010

I love beef, but I once had a cheeseburger and was violently ill for the rest of my evening. I was hugging the toilet bowl. It just felt so toxic.