College's Christmas Cruelty Taken Off The Menu December 4, 2008

Posted by Pulin Modi at December 4, 2008 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack

Any reasonable person will agree that it's cruel to stuff ducks and geese with so much food that their livers become enlarged, right? But that's what happens for foie gras! So it's nice to know that one college in the UK decided to stop selling the stuff after consumer pressure. I'll let Sarah tell you more...
-Pulin

I never though I'd see the day that a college would have foie gras on its menu—well it didn't for long after complaints of cruelty began.

Disappointingly it was at a college in my homeland of Wales. Foie gras was to be served as part of a Christmas menu at Yale College's Rendezvous Restaurant in Wrexham. You can read the full news article here about how the school decided not to sell it!

Foie gras is so cruel that it is illegal to produce in the UK so it has to be imported. It is the diseased liver of ducks or geese, who live in complete misery from the day that they are born until the day they die. After being forced fed by a pipe that is shoved down their throat, they are finally slaughtered once their livers have swollen up to 10 times the normal size.

Why anyone would want to contribute to such unnecessary suffering really is beyond me.

Whilst it seemed relatively easy to convince Yale College not to sell foie gras, unfortunately one of the top department stores here in the UK, Selfridges, notorious for its international designer names, continues to serve such cruelty in its food hall delicatessen.

Please click here to ask Selfridges to stop selling foie gras in its stores.

Compassion is the new fashion!

Foie Gras at Selfridges August 6, 2008

Posted by Pulin Modi at August 6, 2008 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

Hey. Martin in the UK wanted to make sure you all know about a campaign to help ducks and geese killed for foie gras. Check it out.
-Pulin

Now I like to shop probably more than most people. I can think of nothing better on a weekend than going to the west end in London and spending all my hard earned money. I mean there are shops like Topman, H&M, and the Howies store on Carnaby Street.

Unfortunately there are also some stores that don't list company ethics too high on the shops' priorities, and Selfridges is a prime example.

I was almost in shock when I found out that they were selling foie gras in their delicatessen on the ground floor of their food hall—go check it out for yourself.

If you are as amazed as me then you should let them know. Have a look at this recent campaign to try to get them to stop. Foie gras is cruel and illegal to produce in the UK so help out the animals and ask Selfridges to stop selling foie gras.

Thanks for helping,
Martin

Deflocked! February 28, 2008

Posted by Marta at February 28, 2008 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 6 ) | TrackBack

Check out this week's Deflocked about foie gras.

Click for a larger version
To check out past installments, click here.



♥ Marta

Royal Order: Prince Charles Bans Foie Gras! February 27, 2008

Posted by Marta at February 27, 2008 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 6 ) | TrackBack

Today's blog features guest blogger, peta2 UK's Violet.

I couldn't quite believe my ears when I heard this news but against all odds, Prince Charles has banned foie gras from royal menus! The Prince of Wales has instructed chefs at all of his royal residences to stop serving the dish after learning how the product—often referred to as "cruelty in a tin"—is produced. One of Charles's favourite shops in Gloucestershire may also see the removal of The Prince's "Royal Warrant" as they also sell foie gras. Royal Warrants of Appointment are warrants that have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods to a royal court or certain royal persons. Good show old boy!

Splendour/Creative Commons
So what's all the fuss about foie gras?? Foie gras production is a savage process. The birds are kept in tiny wire cages or packed into sheds. Pipes are repeatedly rammed down the birds' throats, and up to 4 pounds of grain and fat are pumped into their stomachs two or three times every day. The pipes puncture many birds' throats, sometimes causing the animals to bleed to death. This cruel procedure causes the birds' livers to become diseased and swell to up to 10 times their normal size. The birds who survive the force-feeding are killed, and their livers are sold for foie gras.


No supermarkets in the UK sell foie gras and it is considered so cruel that its production is actually prohibited in the UK. Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges, who both also have a Royal Warrant, still sell foie gras. Please contact them online and ask them to take a leaf out of the Prince's book and cease the sale of all foie gras from their stores!

Contact Selfridges at: connect@selfridges.co.uk
Contact Fortnum & Mason at: cathy.oneill@fortnumandmason.co.uk

Prince Charles, peta2 salutes you!

*Violet
x

Russell Simmons Ain't Duckin' Around with Chicago November 5, 2007

Posted by Cassandra at November 5, 2007 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

Everybody knows Russell Simmons is forward-thinking. The vegan founder of Def Jam signed all the classic cats: Run DMC, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy (the list goes on). He knew they'd hit it big back when most people thought rapping had something to do with birthday presents. Now, the good-natured godfather of hip hop is using the power of the pen to school the Windy City on staying ahead of the game.

Photo credit: Salon/Creative Commons.
See, last year the Chicago City Council banned foie gras - a nasty dip that's made by shoving sick amounts of grain down ducks throats with a pipe until they become painfully ill and their livers fail from being bloated and diseased. After killing the ducks, they take out the engorged liver, toss it in a blender, put it on a cracker, and charge rich people a shit-load of money to eat it. I know—it's just the meanest, stupidest, grossest thing ever. French nobility came up with this "delicacy" during the dark ages, and that's where it should have stayed.

Now that it's the 21st century, foie gras production is banned in 15 countries plus, the state of California. But Chicago did even better than that by banning the sale of the sadistic substance citywide. But just one year later, industry groups are fighting hard to get rid of the ban.

Russell, being the ever-mindful mogul, found out about it and sent the city council a letter saying foie gras is "wretched" and "abusive." He's disappointed in The Chi for thinking about backing down on a landmark move, and he's urging them not to give in to a handful of high-end restaurant owners and chefs who think they can do whatever they want.

Way to go Russell for keeping hip hop in the heart and the Chitown City Council in check!

You wanna force foie gras to flex? If you live in Chicago, holler at your alderman. If you live somewhere else, and run into foie gras at a restaurant or grocery store, holler at the manager.

Peace, y'all -
Cassandra

P.S. - For the rest of you humane hip hoppers, check out RapHappy.com and see if you can come up with compassionate lyrics like these:

I don't eat no meat, no dairy, no sweets
Only ripe vegetables, fresh fruit and whole wheat...

Life brings life, it's valuable, so I eat what comes
From the ground, it's natural
Let your food be your medicine
(From Dead Prez's "Be Healthy")

-or-

In the slaughterhouse full of germs and flies
Off with the head, they pack it, drain it, and cart it
And there it is, in your local supermarket
Red and bloody, a corpse, neatly packed
And you wonder about heart attacks?
(From KRS-One's "Beef")

-or-

Over a billion served
What they never deserved
So as they drove away they swerved into the curb
With their heads on the steering wheel
Kids blacked out in the back with a fucking Happy Meal
What a crappy deal...

The parking lot is now a burial plot
Where you can park and rot if you can find a spot
(From Mr. Lif's "The Fries")

-or-

Even if the meat wasn't genetically processed
It's all a bloody mess...

I'm a human being
Who doesn't kill to get his protein
(From LMNO's "No Eyes, No Mouth")

UK Council Bans Foie Gras October 5, 2007

Posted by Marta at October 5, 2007 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack

Here's a special guest blog from Martin with peta2 UK!

Well things are looking up in the UK as York Council has voted in favour of banning foie gras in their town. It really makes a difference to me when I see people in council opening their eyes to the suffering that animals are forced to go through on a daily basis so that people can eat a 'delicacy'. Hopefully York's forward thinking will promote other councils towards thinking about animal issues and maybe even taking steps like this to ban pointless cruelty.

For those of you who don't know, foie gras is the diseased liver of a duck or goose. For the last few weeks of their short lives they are force fed huge amounts of grain by having a tube rammed down their throats. Their livers soon swell and by the time of slaughter they are often up to 10 times their normal size. This practice is illegal in the UK so restaurants who still wish to serve this disgusting dish have to import from France and other countries. Hopefully with councils like York this will be a thing of the past in the UK!

A big thank you should go out to Labour Councillor Paul Blanchard for putting forward the motion.

Martin