Le Monde supportive of foie gras as symbol of French cuisine

Tastes [culinary column]
Notes from New York
LE MONDE March 11, 2005

Over a background of food quarrels, the Michelin restaurant guide is about to cross the Atlantic.

New York, from our special correspondent

[.... beginning of article about the Michelin guide projects for the USA ...]

At the end of February, Ariane Daguin and her friends, the 'Nouvelles Mères cuisinières', were celebrating the 20 years anniversary of D'Artagnan in the USA, her company founded in 1985, which sells foie gras imported from France or produced in New York State. 150 French people from the region of Gascogne [in the South West of France, where foie gras is produced] had made the trip to participate to the "Duckathlon", a rally around the merits of the duck from the South West [of France] in the old meat market (Meatpacking District), when young appears suddenly appeared, holding poster "Say no to foie gras !".

A "anti-foie gras campaign" is running, after the vote, in California, of a law that bans the force-feeding of a bi rd when done in order to enlarge its liver beyond its normal size, and bans the sale of a product that is the result of the force-feeding of a bird. The law will apply only starting 1st of July, 2012, the delay allowing the producers time to reconvert. This same text is put under study in the State of New York and should be adopted sometimes between now and this summer. The reality is that, under claims of protecting animals, it is the vegetarian lobby which tries to impose its views, whith Paul McCartney and Kim Basinger, who refuses all animal product (no milk, no cheese) and eat only vegetables, fruits and cereals.

Ariane Daguin recalls that force-feeding of ducks and geese, who naturally gorge themselves, was already being practised in the ancient times in Egypt with figs, well before corn -an American plant- was discovered, that is useless. To prove its good will, d'Artagnan has started selling organic chickens raised outdoors by the "Amish" community of Pennsylvania, and calfs fed without being attached.

Today, foie gras "eaters/lovers"are being pointed at as doing something wrong ; tomorrow, will they have to endure prohibition ? The Michelin guide will have to decide. Will his inspectors [restaurant critics] ban from the guide the non-abolitionist restaurants ? Or will they join the triumphant puritanism which is popular nowadays on this side ot the Atlantic ? Cruel dilemna, when you know that in the US it is not forbidden to feed geese and duck with transgenic corn, neither to force-feed cows, calfs and poultry with hormones.

That is the central question that countains a real debate, that of the decline of French cuisine -and thus of French "culinary taste"- in the US. France produce 80% of the world foie gras, and eats 3/4 of it. The 240 tons of consumption in the US, of which 120 tons are sold by D'Artagnan, are therefore a negligible quantity, but are important as a symbol to the survival of the French "culinary taste". Les 'Nouvelles Mères' have understood that : they have cooked foie gras [... blahblahblah]