tagged w/ foie gras
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Top Secret Writers...
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Undercover Activists Expose Duck Abuse at Foie Gras Farms
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Duck Abuse
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It was like a scene out of a horror movie – a metal tube shoved down the throat of one duck at a time, food forced down into the stomachs, and the duck tossed aside.
Many survived to become lethargic up until slaughter, while a few fell ill and died.
This true story came to light after activists from the Animal Protection and Rescue League infiltrated duck factory farms that produced the ducks from which the “foie gras” appetizer is made.
Foie Gras is fattened liver, and it is produced by using a compressed-air feeder tube that “shoots” food into the duck’s throat in what can only be described as force-feeding.
Activists infiltrated the dark farms in California and New York, and video-taped the horrid health conditions the ducks had to survive after suffering through the force-feeding sessions.
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Clear Animal Abuse
Activists posing as farm workers captured troubling video of the farm conditions, and the degraded health conditions of the ducks after being force-fed with an air gun shoved down the throat.
Bryan Pease, an attorney for the group, stated that the activists should be regarded as heroes, rather than being charged with crime as previous activists have been after rescuing some ducks from these same locations.
“These young activists took great personal risk to expose cruel conditions at these factory farms. Activists who previously rescued ducks from these same locations were charged with felony burglary.”
The Animal Protection & Rescue League has posted the full video of the abusive conditions at StopForceFeed.com. The video includes very graphic footage of the force-feeding process, where an air-gun is shoved deep into the throat of each duck, as food is “shot” into the stomach.
According to a press release from the group, the activists point out that the ducks huddle in the corners of the pens as workers pull them over to the force-feeding tube. This is in stark contrast to previous claims by Hudson Valley Foie Gras that ducks don’t try to escape the force feeding process.
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Why Force Feed?
The reason the farms force-feed the ducks several times a day for the last month of their lives is because the process causes the duck’s liver to swell nearly 10 times larger than normal.
During the force-feeding process, many of the ducks die – clearly evidenced in the activists’ video showing several ducks lying motionless on the ground.
The force-feeding also causes the ducks to become completely lethargic. In one clip of the video, one duck is so slow to respond that it can’t fend off a rat that starts to attack it.
The process produces a large liver, which is extremely high in fat content. The surviving ducks are then processed to produce the “gourmet” foie gras appetizer.
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The War Against Activists
Earlier in January, Top Secret Writers reported on the Butterball Turkey abuse case, where Activists infiltrated Butterball Turkey farms to show workers kicking, throwing and abusing the turkeys there.
This duck force-feeding investigation wasn’t the first time the APRL discovered such abuse. The organization also discovered and exposed animal cruelty from 2002 through 2004.
In 2011, agricultural companies started fighting back by lobbying state legislatures to pass laws that would prohibit animal rights activists from investigating and reporting on those abuses.
According to the NY Times, in April of 2011, Iowa legislators presented a bill that would make it illegal to distribute or even possess videos or photos taken at an agricultural facility without permission.
Both Florida and Minnesota explored similar measures after agricultural company lobbyists pushed hard to have such laws proposed and passed.
Wayne Pacelle, the president of the U.S. Humane Society, made it very clear what the motives were for States that were attempting to pass such laws.
“It’s because they don’t want you to see what’s going on that we’ve [the companies] resorted to employee investigations.”
The efforts of the agricultural lobbyists fly in the face of new laws being passed by U.S. Congress that seek to protect whistleblowers from being prosecuted for reporting wrongdoing by their employers.
Clearly, the lobbyist activity to create such laws is an effort to cover-up questionable actions taking place on agricultural farms that the industry would like to keep hidden from the general public.
There are some businesses that recognize public sentiment against such practices, and have banned serving the food. The APRL reports that hundreds of California restaurants have banned foie gras from the menu.
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To see the video of the abuse captured at the two farms, check out the activist website StopForceFeeding.com.
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Ryan Dube is editor-in-chief of TSW and an electrical engineer in the automation industry. He spends his time investigating declassified government documents, legends and conspiracy theories. Ryan has 297 post(s) at Top Secret Writers
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.Top Secret Writers...
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Undercover Activists Expose Duck Abuse at Foie Gras... more
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DNAinfo...
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Fur Coats Banned at Animal Lover's East Side Bars
December 21, 2011 7:18am | By Serena Solomon, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
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EAST VILLAGE (New York City) — An expensive fur won't get you past the velvet rope at Johnny Barounis' East Side bars — in fact, it will stop you in your tracks.
Barounis, who owns establishments on the Upper East Side, the Lower East Side and in the East Village, is refusing to serve patrons who come in wearing pelts.
The 51-year-old vegetarian has won many fans and a few critics with his anti-cruelty stance, which has vetted customers at his bars for more than ten years and also extends to bans on certain foods, like veal and foie gras.
“It has been something I have done my whole life,” said Barounis, the 51-year-old Upper West Side resident whose bars include the Lower East Side's Revision Bar and Gallery and the Back Room.
“I was always anti-hunting, anti-fur.”
As the evening crowd roll into his trendy establishments, doormen question the pelts of patrons for their authenticity and even inspect the furs if there is any doubt.
“We tell people you are welcome to come in, but the fur stays out” said Barounis, as he sat in Revision, on Avenue B and 14th Street, that is furnished with recycled materials.
Animals that are raised for their fur are often kept in small spaces like battery hens and meet their end by suffocation, electrocution, gas and poison, according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal (PETA), of which Barounis is a member.
While many regular patrons are aware of the rule, some have been caught off guard. Last winter at the Back Room one woman became irate when she was denied entry due to her coat.
“She called the police and they almost locked her up for the false alarm,” Barounis said, who also owns the Auction House and Fetch on the Upper East Side.
Not only does the cruelty aspect to fur upset Barounis, but that the animal’s death is often worn as a status symbol only adds to the frustration.
“I guess she felt entitled enough [to call the police] because she could not get into a bar with a fur coat,” he said, comparing it to “wearing a trophy.”
However, most patrons are graceful when their outfit is rejected. Another woman who also wanted to drink at the Back Room, a speakeasy with an unassuming entry at 102 Norfolk Street, simply took her fur coat off.
“She rolled it up and stuck it in a dark corner in the alley,” said Barounis, adding that the woman fetched it after her night out. “She made no bones about it.”
While Barounis sticks to his rule, he understands the conviction is a personal matter and is not interested in enforcing his views outside the walls of the bars he owns.
“No radicalism here, there is no red paint,” he said.
It was only about eight years ago that Barounis took his beliefs to the next level and became a vegetarian with his wife. While he stuck to it, Barounis didn’t bother trying to convince her out of abandoning the lifestyle a few years later.
While Barounis said he would never deny anyone entry for being a meat eater, he has drawn the line at serving products that are exceptionally cruel to animals like, he says, foie gras and veal.
Leather is still allowed because Barounis believes those animals are part of the food chain. They are not only killed for their skin, but their meat as well.
“The fur thing is basically what I can do to help change some behavior,” he said.
.DNAinfo...
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Fur Coats Banned at Animal Lover's East Side Bars
December... more
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As restaurants take Foie Gras off the menu, in this ‘on the sofa’ discussion, Kirk Leech argues that we shouldn’t worry about eating it and that the detractors have got it wrong. Our intolerance of life style choices is a problem he argues, force feeding ducks is not. Respondents debate the issue and discuss the animal rights angle, reducing humans to the level of ducks, posh food, production and campaign violence. More than a culinary culture war is on the cards.As restaurants take Foie Gras off the menu, in this ‘on the sofa’... more
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Canadian Culinary Festival Takes Foie Gras Off the Menu
by Annie Hartnett January 14, 2011 04:00 PM (PT)
Good news to all the mighty ducks in Canada: Montreal chef Martin Picard will no longer be serving foie gras at the Feburary 4th Winterlude dinner. In fact, Chef Picard won't be serving dinner at all, having chickened out from the "culinary event of the year" after he was asked by Winterlude organizers to cook without his signature foie gras poutine.
Tickets went for $125 a pop for the event to be held at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and organizers were worried the opening gala would be marred by animal rights protests. Well, there's certainly nothing civilized about devouring the liver of force-fed ducks and geese, but when Chef Picard was asked to change his menu, he quit in a huff.
To be fair, Winterlude organizers knew that Picard would be serving foie gras when they hired him, as his restaurants reportedly serve more foie gras than any other dining room in North America. What they didn't anticipate was the outcry from animal activists, many of whom showed up to protest a December 14th Winterlude news conference.
So Winterlude caved to the compassionate pressure. "We all agreed that we could present this menu without foie gras," said Lucie Caron, a spokesperson for the event. The show will go on without Picard as well, since he has been promptly replaced by another celebrity chef, Michael Smith.
The entire Canadian foie gras industry is located in Quebec, where Chef Picard hails from. Last year, the Global Action Network, in collaboration with Farm Sanctuary, investigated Quebec's largest foie gras farm, and uncovered vicious cruelty towards ducks and geese.
Down on the foie gras farm, birds are kept intensively crammed together, often in filthy conditions. In order to create the foie gras, or "fatty liver," a metal feeding tube is jammed down the throats of ducks and geese several times daily, pumping grain and fat into their stomachs. The birds are kept in tiny metal cages for the last weeks of their sad lives.
Sign the petition to help put an end to the Canadian foie gras industry.
Photo Credit: skeddy in NYCCanadian Culinary Festival Takes Foie Gras Off the Menu
by Annie Hartnett January 14,... more
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Celebrate Compassion
The 5th annual World Go Vegan Week is taking place this year from October 24th through 31st. This week is a celebration of compassion and a time to take action for animals, the environment and everyone's well-being. A plant-based diet not only improves your health, it significantly reduces your carbon footprint and preserves resources for future generations. So please join me in creating a healthy future and go vegan for World Go Vegan Week.
- Emily Deschanel
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IDA would like to encourage people to use World Go Vegan Week to educate their community about the vegan lifestyle as a compassionate, sustainable, and healthy way of eating and living. Promoting veganism through outreach events and the media, we know that our annual World Go Vegan Week is helping make the word "vegan" a household word, universally recognized as meaning love and compassion for all living beings.
Take the Vegan Pledge [http://ida.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/Vegan_Pledge] and pledge to go vegan for the week of World Go Vegan Week, October 24 - 31. Join other compassionate and inspired people that are changing their diet, changing their life and changing the world! Then, hold an event to celebrate you commitment to World Go Vegan Week.
Here are some ways you can celebrate World Go Vegan Week:
Be sure to register your event with us so we can send you flyers, posters and other materials to make you event a success. Contact Hope Bohanec: hope@idausa.org (415)448-0058.
* Plan an event or activity to get people interested in veganism, such as a public lecture, cooking demonstration, feed-in with vegan food samples, leafleting, tabling, library exhibit, or street theater performance. If you serve vegan food at your event, you can get refunded for the cost through the VegFund
* Host a vegan potluck dinner or restaurant outing to show your family and friends that they don't have to sacrifice taste to save animals' lives. Sharing delicious vegan food with others is a fun and easy way to make a difference in the lives of animals and the people you care about.
* Ask your local natural foods store to offer vegan samples for the week. Ask your favorite local food store to offer vegan samples or specials for the last week of October. Let them know that we can send information, posters and materials to help them celebrate World Go Vegan Week.
* Ask veg-friendly restaurants to offer discounts or specials on their vegan food. Encourage restaurants to have vegan specials for the week or to offer a discount for bringing in a veg-curious customer.
* Show a powerful, short vegan video at your next potluck or social gathering. Here's one of our favorites: Vegan video by NonViolenceUnited.org.
* Host a vegan pie-baking contest. You can do this in your own home in a public place. Offer prizes like gift certificates to veggie restaurants or IDA T-shirts. Don't you want to be a judge? Yum!
* Host a Vegan Halloween Party. Have a costume party and have prizes for the best animal costume, most compassionate, and the most vegan creative! Have vegan Halloween candy and treats on hand and go trick-or-treating, offering folks at the door vegan candy and brochures.
* Students: join or start a vegan club in your school and plan an event with your friends that will educate people about the benefits of a vegan diet to human health, animals, and the environment. Write a paper on veganism, hand out vegan literature at a college campus or help get vegan meals into your school's cafeteria. Visit Choice to learn how.
* Have a well-known vegan author or athlete come speak in your community. Host an event where a famous vegan offers an inspiring presentation. Have vegan treats for folks to try. IDA can help you contact the person.
* Send a friend or family member who lives far away a gift certificate to a restaurant in their own town. Visit Happy Cow for reviews of vegetarian restaurants around the country.
* Write a letter to the editor about the benefits of a vegan diet or the cruelties of factory farming, or ask your local newspaper to write a story on the subject.
* If you are religious, or participate in spiritual services or gatherings, look for opportunities to incorporate the vegan message into the discussions. If you participate in study groups, suggest discussion fo the vegan message.
* Visit a farmed animal sanctuary and take a friend who still eats meat. There are a number of farmed animal sanctuaries where you can visit rescued cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, ducks, goats, sheep and rabbits live naturally in peace and harmony without fear of abuse or slaughter. Check out Animal Acres, Animal Place, Farm Sanctuary, Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary, or IDA's Project Hope.
* Encourage a Compassionate Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks, talk to your community food banks about providing vegan options such as Tofurkys. Consider buying a few Tofurkys, preparing them, and bringing them to your food bank or other similar community dinner. Be sure to check out Gentle Thanksgiving which offers a lot of information and guidance on this special observance.
* Share the ideals of veganism with your community of friends and colleagues by adding this quote to your email signature:"Veganism gives us all the opportunity to say what we 'stand for' iin life -- the ideal of healthy, humane living. Add decades of health to your life, with a clear conscience as a bonus." - Donald Watson
* If you are a part of an animal protection organization, become a presenter of World Go Vegan Week. There are no costs to you for joining us as a co-presenter. All you need is to post the World Go Vegan Week banner on your web site, which links to the World Go Vegan Week web page. Contact Hope Bohanec, for more information: hope@idausa.org or call (415) 448-0058.Celebrate Compassion
The 5th annual World Go Vegan Week is taking place this year... more
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Foie gras is back on Chicago menus after a two-year ban, but it's not the only traditional delicacy that's been restricted or deemed socially unpalatable. Maggot cheese, anyone?Foie gras is back on Chicago menus after a two-year ban, but it's not the only... more
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For nearly two years, foie gras fans in Chicago slipped into so-called "duckeasies" to indulge in a banned delight.
That all changed on Wednesday when Chicago's city council repealed a prohibition on the sale of the fatty duck and goose liver dish.
For nearly two years, foie gras fans in Chicago slipped into so-called... more
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Foie Gras is a delicacy derived from the livers of force-fed ducks and geese. The substance has just been banned in Chicago and Joe is on the scene to dissect the issue.Foie Gras is a delicacy derived from the livers of force-fed ducks and geese. The... more
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