Lessons from Eduardo De Sousa: Indisputably Ethical Foie Gras

In a time where many animal rights have (rightfully) taken center stage in the opinions of many, the delicacy of "foie gras" has most recently stood in the spotlight. As an avid foodie and lover of all things edible, I was hearbroken liverbroken to hear that California would be banning foie gras from being served in restaurants across the State last July, 2012. Of course you'd be the first, California. Thanks.

In all honesty, I do not know where I stand on the highly debatable topic of farming and serving foie gras on an industrial level. On one hand, exponential numbers of cattle and chicken are killed each year in comparison to the fractional amount of duck livers that are eaten (usually as appetizers or supplements to chicken or beef). Although all I hear from big businesses is that "ducks don't feel any pain in their forced feeding, maintaining a sense of ethicality," advocates against foie gras provide statistics and facts that prove otherwise. And, from the prospective of a food lover that just wants to eat well, clearly food that is served "range free," "organic," and as natural as possible simply taste better - yes you can tell a difference. I just want my foie.

Clearly, like any child that wants two desserts, I want the best of both worlds. I want all of my food, not only foie gras, to be as grown, cultivated, and raised in the most humane way possible. I am thankful for every meal that I get to eat, and try to be as conscious as I can about where my food came from and what it took to get to become a < 20 minute party in my mouth. However, I also understand that this is probably the most difficult task to accomplish when trying to raise livestock on an overwhelming scale. Maybe thats what needs to change - at least for the sake of foie gras.

It is too late to try and change the chicken, cattle, and even duck industries. Personally, I feel like they have become too big, too powerful, and too rich for us to see a drastic change in their practices of raising livestock (at least anytime soon). However, the foie gras industry is relatively new to us in the United States - although a staple in other countries. In the States it is a dish that quickly went from an expensive delicacy and a high end treat, to a more popularized dish taken off of its' pedestal. Enter big business and now we're looking at the same problem of "how do we churn out duck livers while being as [passably] ethical as possible?"

Maybe we should be taking notes from Eduardo De Sousa from Spain. He's an owner of a small foie gras and pate store, as well as an advocate for easily the most ethical way of cultivating the delicacy. His method is simple: feed your geese, let your geese be free, love your geese. His moto is simpler: "Think about a way of life, not a way of business." Without force feeding, caging, or premature slaughtering of his geese, he produces ethical, popular, and delicious foie gras with very traditional methods.


Most importantly, although he produces maybe 1/4 of the foie gras that a big business may produce in a day, those numbers only add to his emphasis. He explains that foie gras is not your everyday meal and shouldn't be eaten as often as you eat potatoes. His belief is that it should be saved for celebratory occasions or special events such as Christmas. Maybe if we don't take foie gras for granted as much and consume it less frequently, business can learn from Eduardo - methods, ethics, and all.

Check it out here! -----   http://vimeo.com/67558195