Fois gras may be the most cruel of foods. Pope Benedict has decried it; Israel has banned it; and gourmets around the world are still taking sides. The term itself is French for “fatty liver,” a pathological state. Although pricey restaurants laud it as a gustatory delight, it’s history is anything but delightful. Ducks and geese are force-fed through metal tubes jammed down their throats until their livers are grossly and unnaturally enlarged. That’s the prize. Yum.

Here’s some video footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RtWaVp0TGg. And here’s another clip showing French foie gras production: http://www.nofoiegras.org/media/media_img/discover-foie-gras.wmv. Let me be totally transparent and tell you that I got this a Farm Sanctuary website and, yes, they are an animal rights group. But the footage is what it is. 

What do you think? Is a gourmet meal, with the ego boost of showing others that you can afford fancy food, worth what you see here? I can’t even imagine it. I’ve stopped going to the Museum of Modern Art here in New York City because their restaurant, The Modern, had on its menu, the last time I was there, three foie gras dishes — two appetizers (that’s how it’s traditionally served) and an entree. In addition to writing letters and signing petitions, bypassing the MOMA is my little added protest.

I know I’m a minority in my choice to live as a vegan. I understand that people eat meat and a lot of those people I love to pieces. But foie gras? It’s so absurd and elitist and archaic. What’s your opinion? Where do you come down in the foie gras wars?