Disgust at Foie Gras on Qatar Airways

It's not different, it’s all the same. You either eat death or you don’t. I choose not to but don't criticise others that do.

It’s hypocritical to say that eating pork is ok but eating dog isn’t... It’s been proven that pigs are just as, if not, more intelligent than dogs and can be trained just like a dog.

I especially loved when that movie Babe came out, and everyone was like "save the pig" as they were eating bacon for breakfast...LOL....ahh ignorance is bliss :p

Pigs...they are sooooo cute!!

In one of the earlier posts it had been announced that Mars was using Pig & Cow fat... One of the leading choc producers in the world....

Hoe different is that from this?

Are we on Earth to eat only?:(

Why treating an animal badly, so that we eat it? :(

> what happens to dairy [calves] if there is no veal trade?

Veal is a by-product of the dairy industry. You can't make milk and cheese without making veal. To produce milk, cows must become pregnant. Half of the calves will be male, so cannot be used in the dairy industry. These calves are not beef cattle so cannot be raised for the beef industry either.

In countries where there is no consumer demand for veal, these male calves are killed and thrown in the bin. A waste of life, but one which happily most people choose to ignore.

If you choose to eat beef but not veal, you're causing the deaths of more cows, and the calves are killed whether you want to eat them or not. Killing an animal and eating it is fine with me, but it's indefensible to kill it and throw it away because it's cute.

or not ...

everyone should email a letter of protest over this!

There are millions of children in Africa who would be grateful if we force-fed them. Kids that are dying everyday. I worry about them. Once they are receiving at least two square meals a day, I'll pay attention to the geese.

PS. I don't eat geese or any of their parts anyway. I love veal though.

Ooh la la la plume de ma tante et mange tout. All this idle banter on French gastronomic delicacies has left one feeling rather peckish. Fortunately, there's still a tin of foie gras in the old larder, so I'm off for a little snack...

I still wouldn't eat it. Because as a rule I don't eat the organs of any animal, just the meat. No kidney, no oysters (because it is the entire animal including organs), no snails, no liver, no fish eyes, no t*sticles, no brain etc.

Thats just a personal preference.

But hypothetically, if i was a liver eater and enjoyed the flavour of pure fat, sure, I'd go for foie gras if the geese didn't undergo additional discomfort to make it.

How about if you knew that the geese were not force-fed, but killed during that time of the year when they naturally over feed by themselves, voluntarily, as it happens just before migration? Would that make any difference, or would you still refuse to eat foie gras?

Thanks for your comments everyone.

Perhaps the methods are not as bad as I thought. If that were the case though, i wonder why it has been made illegal.

In any case, I think its one of those grey topics where any opinion is valid because it is based on your own human emotion. No-one knows whether its haram or not? I guess it isn't in that case.

Will still never eat it myself. I don't care what you cook it with.

especially if it tastes as good as foie gras. If we were to analise every single item that we ate, then I suggest we give up coffee or chocolate as its production is much more controversial not against animals, but against human rights.

You can be disgusted at the idea of eating foie grass, veal, chicken or even a lobster that has been boiled alive... whatever, certainly the picture of a goose with a tube stuck up its mouth is not going to keep me from enjoying foie gras.

Also, Liana, much of the foie gras produced in France is done by small independent farmers and the method I witnessed was exactly the one shown on the picture. The ducks did not seemed distressed at being forced-fed. It takes no longer than a couple of seconds, really.

for you.

Kidding (before charmed strings me up), the human race are omnivores and are adaptable to eat anything (even each other). However this does not give us the right to arbitrally slaughter animals needlessly in the name of feeding our over growing stomachs.

Yes it is hurtful to view/watch geese/ducks being force fed...but at the end of the day the farmers are doing exactly what all the expats are doing....his job....for money!!!

We came we saw we were Qatarized

I agree with you 100%. I always get annoyed when meat eaters give their views on what is cruel and what is ok to eat. I've been a Vegetarian most of my life mainly for political reasons, but if I happened to be a meat eater I wouldn't discriminate and say what is wrong and right to eat. All meat you eat is cruelty…industrial farming, battery hens…..the list goes on…all of it is appalling and if you cant handle it like me, it’s simple, don't eat meat. But don't start ranting to people about what is right and wrong to eat. It's hypocritical!!!

... duplicate post

but that doesn’t give us the right to be cruel to animals. We are born humans who are born with compassion and thoughts and feeling the ability to make choices in our lives which animals don’t have the luxury of.

Surely we should be grateful for the lives which we are born into and be more kind and caring to the creatures which share this planet with us? That’s so wrong just saying animals are cruel to each other then so should we? Does that go for torturing animals, training dogs to fight for our entertainment, bull fighting ?? Im sorry to go on but we really should be trying to make this world a better place for all that live in it and avoid unflicting pain on living creatures

If you want to be coherently against animal cruelties give up meat completely! … oh and fish as well!

I can hardly understand your point of view. If it hurts you till that point, just try to forget about what you've seen because things are not going to change...French people love foie gras, and I beleive from what I've read that some other nationalities appreciate it as well.

Of course, the animals are force-feeded and so? Does it really hurt you? What about the chicken eating the worm? The cat playing with the mouse then killing it? All the animals are crual, that's just the way life is working.

And sorry about what I will say (some people will say french are arrogant) but I truly beleive that some countries have a fantastic gastronomy, such as France and Italy and everything has to be done to maintain these traditions. Living in Qatar, I'm more aware of how much I miss french food.

Have you ever tried to eat foie gras with a pinch of salt, grilled baguette and a glass of Sauternes ? If not, try eat absolutely and you will forget immediately the poor animals.

> Foie Gras is illegal in Australia, the UK and Illinois

Production of foie gras doesn't happen in the UK, but it's legally served at every half-decent bistro. You can also buy tins of pate de foie gras at most supermarkets.

> Chickens and pigs we have to eat... but this process is just sick

I usually avoid heated debates on QL, they're not worth the effort, but as no one is sticking up for delicious foie gras, I suppose I'll have to join the fray.

The stuff is amazing. Normally, I'm not into expensive names - for me, caviar is just awful and I'd prefer a pint of real ale to an expensive french wine. However, foie gras is a miracle of french ingenuity. If you've ever tasted chicken liver pate and thought "this stuff is nice", then you'll wet yourself when you taste a bloated goose liver. Rich, buttery and far more delicate than a chicken liver, once tasted you'll never forget the sensation.

> I bet you couldn't "stomach" it yourself if you even saw it done.

There's been plenty of opportunity on UK TV to see gavage (force feeding). In particular, I remember seeing John Burton Race visit a goose farm to explain the process. It wasn't particularly unpleasant viewing.

What you will _never_ see on television is the killing of sheep or cows, which is a truly awful experience if you haven't seen it before. Drumming up a campaign against cruelty to birds is just hypocrisy if you're happy to kill mammals by the million. And don't get me started on what happens to the calves from dairy herds when there's no veal trade.

Almost everyone eats meat, and we'd all prefer to ignore the killing of animals while we're nibbling on a kebab, drinking a glass of milk, or trying on a nice new pair of shoes. A lot of people are also happy to ignore a goose's sore neck for a better entree - if you can't ignore the cruelty, don't eat it.

the cruelty but still eat it? I get so upset hearing about the fois gras, veal baby ...all of it! And what do you mean about what happens to dairy cows if there is no veal trade?? What happens to them?

I agree with killing animals for meat thats survival and the way we were made to be, but i dont agree with the mass production and the way the animals are treated now, to me its wrong to take the life of any living creature. but then i eat meat. its a shame that there is no farms out here where you can go and buy fresh meat from the farm who had the cow and you know it was kept happy. Its so upsetting at time i really have to battle with my consiounce to eat meat, i wont eat lamb either as they are babies. But then the chickens out here, are they battery chickens? oh gosh do i want to know this? Ngourlay is right its easier to eat the meat and not think about it all, but then i cant not think about it!

liana you keep going with this thou, your in the right and i think the point people are missing is that this is haram here in qatar what they are doing so they shouldnt be serving it on the QA flights

i dont understand why fois gras shud be haram while eating other meat can be halal....

creuelty to animals is cruelty to animals... whether its force fed or whether it isnt.... given a chance none of these animals would willingly become your dinner...right?

call me a freak or whatever... i have always been a vegetarian since birth becos of cultural/ religious reasons and i dont find me being deficient in any way....

though a few very wise people on QL find my written english deficient....

why not be a vegetarian?

i find this stand on fois gras very hypocritical when people have no hassles in eating chicken and mutton and beaf...

arent they animals too?

Thanks Pothole. I dont eat veal for that very reason.

Contrary to these other 'Aussies' you refer to, I think meat slaughtered in the halal way, with a sharp knife in a swift move, is fine! Our ancestors didn't have electic shocks to kill their cattle, but they also didnt ram tubes down geese's throats to make foie gras!

What do you mean "at least here its kept alive"??

And butterfly, you reckon all foie gras comes from family farms like that? aaah, yeah I set the attached photo up and took it myself.... just to cause a stir.

And chickens and pigs... well its a shame that they live in cramped conditions.

But you're missing the point entirely: This procedure is torturous towards the animals, and its not necessary to provide us with our food. Chickens and pigs we have to eat! We breed them, we eat them! but this process is just sick. And for Australia and other civilised countries to criminalise it on no religious basis but its pure cruelty, it must be even worse than I think.

I bet you couldn't "stomach" it yourself if you even saw it done. You either Corleone.

I will sihn that petition only because they serve fois gras in business class and i always fky economy. if they do start serving it in economy, i will withdraw my signature and enjoy it. Lians i am not being sarcastic here, but i agree with pothole, animals are being slaughtered everywhere, at least here its kept alive.

I always tell the truth, even when I lie

Foie gras is delicious. It melts in your mouth and its taste is sublime.

I visited once a small family run farm and these little god's creatures, far from looking traumatised at being forced-fed, waddled over and seemed quite impatient for their turn to be fed.

Sure, the geese end up sick from over eating and hence the very fatty sick liver that makes this delicacy, but I would much rather worry about the appaling contidions of chickens and pigs farms all over the world.

Charmed - I'm sure most here would skip their Subway/Mac'ers/KFC lunch tomorrow if I told them they'd be eating processed meat which is partly beak, claws, guts, eyeballs and lots of water.

http://www.foodcomm.org.uk/latest_watermeat_apr05.htm

http://www.newstarget.com/011148.html

http://coloncancer.about.com/b/a/256571.htm

I remember seeing another discussion on QL regarding where to "find the best processed meat" in Doha. Good luck.

i hate the way we have abuse animals for our own greedy pleasure. Lianna you are right about this, this is wrong and this is haram for sure. If you want any help on this i will be happy to help you out.

Pothole you are corect on the veal aspect this also sickens me that this can be done, but then most things about the meat industry sicken me such as KFC chickens,bernard matthews meat, battery hens sadly the list goes on and on. You say you dont care as long as the meat is hygenic ? Surely you care what part of the animal you are eating, most mass produced meat if you knew what you are eating you wouldnt eat it. Fair enough if you eat meat only from a butchers ( and i really hope you do!) and such then at least you know what you are eating! But when people eat burgers and such its gross what goes in there! Dont mean to go off on a tangent, but if your worried about meat being hygenic then you need to know about the mass produceded fast food meat!

Sure "Foie Gras is illegal in Australia, the UK and Illinois due to the cruelty involved in its production"

But Veal is widely available and consumed in the above-mentioned three locations. For those who don't know, Veal is slaughtered meat from calves that are only a few days old. These calves are raised in crates, often tied down, to restrict movement so their muscles do not develop and toughen the meat.

UK and Australia export veal to Netherlands where it's illegal to produce it.

Liana, I don't mean to take the piss out of you, but the first time I had veal as a kid was on a Qantas flight from Bangkok to Melbourne.

You refer to the term "halal" as if no cruelty is involved during slaughtering. When, in fact a section of Aussies are trying to stop exports to "halal" nations as they think it's inhumane to slaughter with a knife without shock-stunning the animal in question.

And FYI, I don't care how my meat is slaughtered as long as it's hygenic. I'm sure I wouldn't be on top of the food chain if my ancestors rallied around protesting against cruelty to animals.

And finally, to conclude, don't think of me as a monster. I couldn't hurt a fly.

Although it is not produced in the UK it is unfortunately not yet illegal

Im appalled to learn of this too. To torture animal for whatever reason IS haram. In fact, it goes beyond that. Its forbidden. To get you started, perhaps this link may be useful, http://www.religioustolerance.org/tomek14.htm

Peace be unto you and good luck.