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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to accept a present of foie gras

120 replies

Toadinthehole · 14/12/2012 05:15

...leastways I assume it's for me. I found it by accident, it is my birthday in a few days' time, and I like foody things.

I don't eat foie gras because I think force-feeding geese is cruel. I have mentioned this to my DW. I suspect she has forgotten about this, and accordingly forgotten that I don't eat foie gras.

AIBU to smile and accept the gift and "forget" to mention my reservations until perhaps a few months later? After all, the stuff has been bought now.

OP posts:
BigShinyBaubles · 14/12/2012 07:56

Omg Jimmney, I'll never look at pate the same! Does it still have calories?

FlojoHoHoHo · 14/12/2012 08:01

I have no idea what fois gras tastes like, I am not a veggie (those don't particularly eat meat either) but I would draw the line at fois gras. If someone bought it for me I would flip, and seriously consider what I was doing with someone who thought it was ok to buy it.

GreenPetals · 14/12/2012 08:03

I can't quite understand the logic of 'I don't eat fois gras because the way you get fois gras is unethical' followed by 'well if someone is giving some to me, I'll eat it because it would be rude/would go to waste etc..'.

If you don't eat it for ethical reason, just don't. If someone is giving you some, don't eat it, explain why. At least, instead of supporting the farming of the geese, you will be spreading the word about something that you really care about (And I suppose you really do if you don't eat it).

PorkyScratching · 14/12/2012 08:04

Mmmm Id gobble it up! I love it, and I am not an ethical meat eater (just a normal carnivore).

babythrashling · 14/12/2012 08:06

Plodder, I think we'll have to assume you're just not very bright - there's no other reason anyone would come out with such utter nonsense about animals not suffering.

Perhaps you might like to watch this video of animals not suffering and not feeling pain?
www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/foie-gras.aspx

OP, it'd go straight in the bin if I were you, I coud not put something that gross in my body, I have too much respect for myself and the animal that was tortured to make that crap.

imogengladhart · 14/12/2012 08:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

takataka · 14/12/2012 08:12

Ughhh...minging. no way, no how would it pass my lips, present or no present

And is be pissed off with the person that bought it for me, if they knew me

babythrashling · 14/12/2012 08:15

Porky - Mmmm Id gobble it up!

Yum, the distended, ground up organs of a helpless beast who has been tortured to the point of developing acute liver disease - delicious, where can I get me some? Really, I just can't think of anything tastier!

Never fails to amaze me what some people will actually put into their bodies.

cuillereasoupe · 14/12/2012 08:21

wrong as no other animal would subject any other animal to the inhumane torture

Eh? of course they do!

TwinklingWonderland · 14/12/2012 08:27

Yabu. Politely tell dw that you don't eat it, so she isn't offended.

As for those who do eat fois gras, knowing how barbaric the treatment of geese is, I have no words.

There are all sorts of 'traditions' and cultural norms that are plainly wrong and have been stopped. Shall we stone a homosexual? Or shave the head of a woman in an extra marital affair?

There are varying degrees of cruelty in meat production - animals happily living on a farm in free range conditions and then slaughtered locally and humanely is very different to a goose being strapped down, a tube forcefully inserted to its mouth and food being pumped in to the point that its liver swells and organs fail. Sad

babythrashling · 14/12/2012 08:27

Other animals kill each other in the name of survival rather than inhumane torture. WE do it because we are greedy and cruel - no one needs to eat foie gras to survive!

Original poster
Toadinthehole · 14/12/2012 08:31

I think my DW would be very mortified rather than angry if I refused to accept it. Very mortified and embarrassed - even more than if I tried to use it as a sex aid.

OP posts:
LeBFG · 14/12/2012 08:35

NamingOfParts - spot on.

I live in foie gras country and my very good friend makes it to sell. I'm also very interested in animal welfare - all our meat is homegrown and free-range. I've thought a lot about foie gras production, watched it a lot, helped prepare the duck carcasses. I have to say that imo the way my neighbour does it is much less cruel than the vast majority of battery farmed chickens the UK like to gobble up with no qualms.

The ducks are kept in stables in groups of 30 with clean straw and room to move - there is light and open windows. They are let out in the day. When she force feeds, she takes care not to overfill (this can kill them) so they aren't filled to painful amounts, this is counter-productive in fact.

I'm not saying it's how we would choose to have our ducks, but there are a lot worse production methods (PORK in particular is absolutely disgusting). Plus ducks are greedy bastards - we had one lot one year that I swear sat down all day and ATE all we gave them in the weeks before we killed - and would have eaten more. They were full of fat and and their livers were quite swollen and yummy. Doesn't happen every year like that unfortunately Xmas Sad.

Anyway (this doesn't help OP sorry) I would recommend buying foie gras from a small producer rather than an industrial outfit.

rogersmellyonthetelly · 14/12/2012 08:39

I absolutely love the stuff, but I can't bring myself to eat it knowing how the geese are treated. Same with veal, it tastes lovely, but I won't eat it as I refuse to support any farming method which promotes cruelty.
I eat meat, I love the stuff, and have no problems whatsoever in eating an animal which has been bred to be killed, as long as it has been kept and killed humanely. fois gras, veal and battery chickens dont fall into that category.

kittyandthegoldenfontanelles · 14/12/2012 08:42

'Regifting' would seem like endorsing it though.

YWBU

babythrashling · 14/12/2012 08:44

LeBFG- When she force feeds

That, there.Those four words tell you everything that is wrong about foie gras. She force feeds helpless animals so that they develop liver disease. Ducks aren't the greedy bastards, I'm afraid - it's the fucking greedy,stupid, cruel humans that eat this crap. You are kidding yourself.

And as for They were full of fat and and their livers were quite swollen and yummy.

Sorry but that just made me retch, right there. Please think about what you are actually saying.

kittyandthegoldenfontanelles · 14/12/2012 08:46

What difference would using a small producer make? Hmm

babythrashling · 14/12/2012 08:46

NamingOfParts - oh, only three weeks, that's ok then. Would you be ok with being force fed for two or three weeks?

MrsWolowitz · 14/12/2012 08:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

worldgonecrazy · 14/12/2012 08:51

I have been to a foie gras farm and the animals were happy and well cared for. I only buy ethical/organic meat for my family and am vegetarian myself. I have no issues with buying foie gras for my husband or daughter, having seen the production methods and the animals. My husband loves it.

TeeElfOnTeeShelf · 14/12/2012 08:52

"always eat free range meat where possible"

Which is it? Always or when possible?

Meat is meat. Animals are dumb. Eat it.

::awaits cries of cruelty and heartlessness and agrees::

bradywasmyfavouritewiseman · 14/12/2012 08:55

There was a program a few years ago about a farmer that was producing 'ethical' foie four.

They hat acorn trees and Geddes arrived every year and chose to forget themselves on the acorns. So they started catching and killing a few and their livers were not as big as forced fed, but the acorns gave a really good flavour. Apparently.

There were hundreds of geese that came every year and they only took a small percent as to not damage the flock.

I am sure it was very expensive, but for those who really like it, it may be worth looking at.

cuillereasoupe · 14/12/2012 08:56

I live in France, too, and foie gras is just such a non-issue here. It's interesting how outrage is culturally determined.

it's the fucking greedy,stupid, cruel humans that eat this crap

it would be so easy to ask if you're absolutely sure that everything you eat and wear and buy is 100% ethically sourced - no shopping at Tesco or Primark, no driving a car or flying, no buying Nestle. But I won't, because I understand that different people apply different ethical standards to different areas of their lives, without feeling the need to resort to insults.

babythrashling · 14/12/2012 08:57

TeeElf, you just sound dumb I'm afraid....animals aren't dumb at all, as you would discover if you bothered to educate yourself. Easier just to remain ignorant and stuff their rotting flesh in their mouth, though, eh?

worldgonecrazy - that's great that the animals were happy and well cared for...right up until the point they were tortured to death, I'm guessing?

pictish · 14/12/2012 08:58

Well the goose is dead now so you might as well show the animal some respect and eat it.
It's yum.