Saturday, August 26, 2006

Duck, Duck, Goose.

Oh dear. From time to time, Mrs THIT will be the one to recommend something for me to post on here. The Mrs may not be the activist type so much, and favours the silent protest by far (i.e. boycott, hence the vegetarian switch) but that makes her no less prone to fits of outrage.


So this morning she reads this in an article about banning foie gras in Chicago:

Foie gras -- French for "fatty liver" -- is commonly produced by force-feeding ducks and geese so that their livers increase by up to 10 times the normal size.

The state's restaurant association has filed a suit against the city seeking to have the ordinance thrown out.

The suit, filed on Tuesday, alleges the measure is unconstitutional and will cost the city US$18-million in lost revenue and taxes.

The suit points out: "All of the foie gras sold in Chicago restaurants is produced in Canada, France and New York."

A few restaurateurs showed their contempt for the edict by including the goose and duck liver delicacy as specials on Tuesday, the day the ban went into effect.

Even some who don't normally serve foie gras offered it, putting it on Chicago's famed deep-dish pizzas and soul food.

This was accompanied by a picture of a duck with a large tube crammed down its throat.

It...didn't go over well.

Now French being my first language, I knew what foie gras literally meant. I didn't think they went to such lengths, mind you; I'd never really stopped to think about it.

"Honey, I'm home!"
"Hello! How was work today?"
"Not bad...I force-fed 12 ducks and 14 geese because Tony called in sick again."

In any event, if anyone thought that the vegetarian thing was a phase for Christine, little reminders like that will see to it that it's not.

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