In the Photo: Quacker's Corner
MORE FROM THE OUTSIDE ...THE POULTRY WARS A few BC restaurateurs have experienced encounters with anti-foie gras protesters in the past year (
Rob Feenie was briefly vilified on his
Wikipedia enty and
Angus An of
Gastropod has received phone threats), but none have yet to experience the furious vandalism currently being unleashed against certain restaurants in the US over their kitchen's use of the controversial luxury food.
The Deseret Morning News reported this week that one of Salt Lake City’s top restaurants,
Metropolitan, has been repeatedly splattered with red paint, had their gas main damaged, picture windows smashed and a waitperson punched in the face during altercations with local protesters who dub themselves
SHARK (show animals respect and kindness).
Obviously under the terms of their philosophy, respect and kindness does not extend to the sustainability of the small business animal, and the Metropolitan has felt motivated to remove foie gras from its menu. This, despite the restaurant owner's claim that on nights the group demonstrated, foie gras sales actually went up. "They created such a hubbub that the guests wanted to try it to see what the fuss was all about", she said. "Either that, or they found the protesters so obnoxious they ordered foie gras just to spite them."
Meanwhile on the chicken front, the British press
reports that the campaigns of influential chefs such as
Jamie Oliver and
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (who have been urging their fans to purchase only free-range hens over those raised in "cage farms") is going beak to beak with the poultry industry's own press releases claiming that battery chickens produce less green house gas than their free-ranging cousins, and thus are "better for the environment".
With all the honking fracas, it's too bad we can’t just ask the poultry themselves what they think about it. They'd probably tell us all to cluck off.
