Foie gras and the true cost of human greed

The Daily Mail reports today on celebrity butcher Jack O'Shea, given the chop for secretly selling foie gras at Selfridges in London.

He was caught dishing it out to the rich and famous from his counter even though the store had banned the sale of foie gras three years ago.

If there is a reason to be filled with relief I fit neither into the category of rich nor famous, this vile product, produced by force feeding geese and ducks until their livers swell, is it.

Using the code “'French fillet” Mr O'Shea sold it in packets of 795g, for £39.40 until he was caught on a hidden camera.

I’m not a vegetarian, and am maybe laying myself open to accusations of hypocrisy, but I feel I have the right to voice my hatred of this “delicacy”.

I do limit the amount of meat I consume and make sure it comes from ethical sources (well as ethical as is possible), I am acutely aware of the practices involved in bringing dead animals to my table.

I understand that even meat that is sold with the promise of being farmed humanely has involved slaughtering animals, and I sometimes hate myself for not being strong enough to become a full-out vegan.

But I believe claiming that title involves more effort than the militant animal rights lobby are even prepared to put in themselves.

To stand on a moral vegan soap box and chastise anyone up there with you involves a lot more effort than any vegan I know has ever been prepared to put in.

It involves boycotting anything that involves animal abuse - and if you are going to come the hard line, this means ANYTHING.

Foods such as meat (obviously), eggs, and milk, cheese and any dairy are of course forbidden.

But also banned is honey, bread (bread contains insect shells), soya as this involves destruction of acres of rainforest and alcohol (cleared with enzymes from fish intestines).

As a committed vegan I would have to throw away clothes made from leather, silk and plastic (oh, yes, a true vegan will know plastic is a product of oil, which itself is a product of dead animals).

I would refuse any medication that involved animal research or testing including anesthesia and reconstructive surgery if I was ever in an accident, antibiotics, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and asthma relief.

Any medication that comes in a capsule probably contains gelatin - out.

There is even an argument I would have to replace all the windows in the house with a non-glass, non-plastic alternative.

Glass is produced from silica, a derivative of sand which we all know contains crushed sea-shells.

These observations, I admit extreme, I hope give some perspective before I start on the real issue. I try my best, but I am not perfect, that is all I am saying.

But when it comes to foie gras, I am confident to stand up and say I wouldn’t touch it, and yes, firmly on ethical grounds.

I am dumbstruck that anyone who has the faintest idea how it is produced would go near the stuff.

Well done Selfridges on two counts, for banning it, and getting rid of the person who chose to deal it under your counters.

As Mr O’Shea was escorted from the store after being busted he said: “I will probably lose my business over it but I couldn't give a damn. My conscience is clear.”

Really Mr O’Shea? Is it?

Lets have a look at how foie gras is made.

Ducks and geese are caged in their thousands in tiny holds which allow them no movement of their wings, body or legs.

The wire they stand on 24 hours a day gradually eats into their webbed feet.

Repeatedly they are held by the neck before a mechanical tube is inserted into their throats.

Huge amounts of grain and fat is pumped into their stomach as they are held still, far more than it is designed to take causing it to stretch and distend.

It is painful, distressing and terrifying for the animal, and is repeated until the liver become swollen and diseased.

The animal is then killed to remove the product so favoured by the rich and famous.

The fight against this cruelty has, thankfully, been championed by many high-profile celebrities who have done good work to highlight the barbaric practice of producing foie gras.

Kate Winslet, Dame Vera Lynn and Roger Moore have all put their voice to the fight.

Production is now banned in 15 countries including the UK, but there is more to be done to stamp it out altogether.


I spoke to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) on the subject.


A spokesman said: "Undercover video footage from inside foie gras farms in France shows the terrible suffering endured by birds who have the misfortune of being raised for foie gras. 


"Young ducks (most are just a few weeks old) are individually crammed into tiny cages that are barely larger than their own bodies. 


"Up to two kilograms of grain and fat are pumped into the ducks’ stomachs each day. That’s roughly the equivalent of feeding a human adult 20 kilos of pasta.

"Birds used in foie gras production commonly live in dark, crowded and filthy conditions and often become severely depressed and can be seen to shake in anticipation of the next assault.

"Foie gras is the most vile and inhumane of goods and no one with an ounce of compassion would go near this product known as 'torture in a tin'."

To find out more, Kate Winslet has narrated a short piece on Peta’s website, please take a look.