Philadelphia Food Media

[Alcibiades]

I just finished listening to the program and I have to say that Rick Nichols did an excellent job in pointing out that the Nick Cooney's demeanor on the program gives a very different impression from the one his group gives when conducting a protest.

I've had several dealings with Hugs for Puppies and been on the receiving end of their protests 4 times. They have, on more than one occasion, engaged in abusive language and violated the specific physical and time constraints under which their permitted protest was allowed to take place.

The foie gras thread is closed down because the topic is inherently political. Frankly, there's very little to discuss about this topic that has to do with gastronomy (at least in the context of the protesting). With that said, it's worth noting (in my experience) that the Hugs for Puppies group is engaging in intimidating, verbally-abusive and often times misleading behavior in order to get their point across and I'm glad Rick Nichols stressed that in his appearance on Radio Times.

[serpentine]

And...Bkyofsky has apparently taken some protest-propaganda to heart for his latest column. I would be kinder, but there's an awful lot of italics going on to clue readers in as to when to be shocked.

[dagordon]

And...Bkyofsky has apparently taken some protest-propaganda to heart for his latest column. I would be kinder, but there's an awful lot of italics going on to clue readers in as to when to be shocked.

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This guy is an utter moron.

The article contributes absolutely nothing new to the issue, simply parrots familiar rhetoric, and does not meet minimal standards of journalistic integrity (it does not evidence even minimal research).

[wkl]

okay, i got half way through this and got that familiar, uneasy feeling of my body preparing for my head to explode.

i stopped at "I have yet to see a photo of a duck happily waddling up to a man holding a feeding tube."

actually, i have seen these photos. a little research would turn them up.

it's common for the geese to run to the farmer come feeding time.

i'm beating a dead horse but, to decry foie gras while you are happily dining on tyson or perdue chicken is the height of ignorance.

as to the chicago ban, didn't it get overtrurned? if not, the enforcement is a joke from what i hear.

[wkl]

and another thing.............

how much you wanna bet stuie boy has downed some foie gras in his day?

i've seen him out and about in a couple resto's over the years. so, he's no stranger to the dining philly scene. no i haven't seen him actually eating foie gras, but i really wonder..........

eta: if he's so worried about theses poor "ducks" (doesn't fg mostly come from geese?) why is he just now railing about it? hasn't he been writing his stupid column for, like, a zillion years?

Edited June 8, 2007 by wkl (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Let us please refrain from unecessary name calling and attacks on the author. If you think the article sucks, that's fine. Please leave it at that. This is the Daily News we're talking about here, people. Not exactly a hotbed of Pulitzer prize winning material, no? This is veering off course again...

[mrbigjas]

this is unfortunately a case of a little knowledge being worse than none.

of course, as katie points out, it is the daily news, and stu bykofsky. anyone who would take his opinion seriously on a matter like this should question their own judgment -- the ins and outs of the food world are not an area in which he has expertise.

Edited June 8, 2007 by mrbigjas (log)

[serpentine]

of course, as katie points out, it is the daily news, and stu bykofsky. anyone who would take his opinion seriously on a matter like this should question their own judgment -- the ins and outs of the food world are not an are in which he has expertise.

This is what is so frustrating to me. Hey, I'd like some non-food-writers to cover this issue. I'd like to see something besides PETA & Friends vs. Foodies. I'd love for an ordinary-guy columnist to see the protest literature, think that it sounds pretty egregious, and do a little research.

A little research on where our food comes from would not lead to the assertion of "A slow-dawning enlightenment birthed the idea that brutality to animals is wrong."

wkl, goose foie gras is more expensive. And very little fresh goose foie is exported to the US anyway. Fresh duck foie is much easier to get, whether from domestic sources (isn't all US foie gras from ducks?) or Europe. However, much of the pate de foie gras I see in restaurants is indeed from goose.

[Vadouvan]

Pointless

Edited June 8, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[serpentine]

you can buy it from D'artagnan anyday anytime

Well, not RIGHT NOW, since it's currently out of stock at D'artagnan.

[Vadouvan]

On a more serious note...

Copy of an E mail sent out to me today by Ariane Daguin below.

Recently a group of animal rights zealots has drawn a lot of attention to foie gras in Philadelphia. They would like to see a city-wide ban, like the one in Chicago, enacted in your city. Please consider the facts about foie gras, and help to educate others. Knowledge is the only way to counter these fanatical demonstrations. When cities and states defend themselves (with public outcry and calls to the city council) against these protesters, it is possible to keep them from controlling our dinner plates.

For the full text, and more information, please visit www.dartagnan.com or www.artisanfarmers.org.

FOIE GRAS TRUTHS :

"After being on the premises, my position changed dramatically. I did not see animals I would consider distressed, and I didn't see pain and suffering. He said, "It is more distressing to take a rectal temperature in a cat." He cautioned against "anthropomorphism, which is different from the human-animal bond."

~Statement of Dr. Robert P. Gordon, American Veterinary Medical Association Delegate, speaking to the AVMA House of Delegates following a visit to Hudson Valley Foie Gras. In both 2005 and 2006, the AVMA House of Delegates rejected calls to pass anti-foie gras resolutions.

"Based on the extra physiological use of a natural fattening phenomenon, foie gras has been recognized as a non-pathological and non-harmful product. It has been shown that physiological indicators of stress, nociceptive signs and behavioral responses were hardly affected by the force-feeding procedure."

~Drs. Daniel Guemene and Gerard Guy, in "The Past, Present and Future of Force-Feeding and 'Foie Gras' Production"

"The digestive tract is relatively short in birds that eat fruit, meat, and insects, and longer in those that eat seeds, other plant matter and fish. The basic oesophagus is a simple, narrow tube, which often widens into a sack-like crop, where food can be stored temporarily. The oesophagus can stretch considerably to accommodate large prey, such as when an egret swallows a large fish whole."

~The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behaviour. 2001, C. Elphick, J.Dunning Jr, D. Sibley eds.; Christopher Helm London, Chanticleer Press Ltd London, 1st ed, 588pp.

The National Audubon Society states that "..birds have a remarkable ability to expand the mouth and stretch the oesophagus to swallow large prey."

"Their goal is a vegan society. I believe in free speech, and in America as a tolerant society. But people who are intolerant of other's people's rights, well, that's the problem."

~Robert Uricchio, owner of La Foret in Highland Park, IL, said of anti-foie gras activists who have periodically picketed his restaurant and his house for the past two years.

"If I told you ten years ago that the animal rights movement had its sights set on not just hampering, but outlawing, a specific kind of animal protein enjoyed by many people, you might not have believed me. But look what has happened in the case of foie gras. When zealots ban books because of their politics, millions of people rise up. It's a mystery to me why banning a food for political reasons isn't viewed the same way. As long as people who have enthusiastically articulated [an] anti-meat worldview continue to lead [The Humane Society of the United States], it will be impossible to convince American farmers and ranchers that HSUS doesn't intend to do them harm. They would continue to argue that farm animals have inherent 'rights' and chief among them is the right to not be eaten. I must reiterate that in the context of considering how best to raise animals for food, radical vegans in the animal-rights community are strictly outsiders. They don't deserve a place at the debating table, because their fondest wish is to destroy the table itself."

~David Martosko, Director of Research, The Center for Consumer Freedom, in his testimony before the United States Congress, May 8, 2007

"It is the silliest ordinance that was ever passed."

~Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley speaking on May 14, 2007, about the foie gras ban and predicting that the ordinance would soon be repealed.

"I've gotten a few letters with people saying, 'How would you like a tube stuck down your throat?' [Well,] my throat is not like a duck's throat. If you have some tragedy like an oil spill or a fire around a wetland, they would be using an exact same feeding tube to feed those injured ducks."

~Allen Sternweiler, executive chef at Allen's - The New American Café in Chicago and plaintiff in the lawsuit to overturn Chicago's ban on

constitutional grounds

"[Anthony Bourdain] agree that the California and Chicago legislation that preceded it, is not really about whether breeding ducks for foie gras is humane or inhumane. Instead, they argue, it is an emblem of the potential dangers of trying to legislate something as private and personal as eating habits - and a sign of the difficulty Americans still have understanding where and how they get their food ."

~Salon.com, October 5, 2006

In 1985, D'Artagnan pioneered free range, organic, humanely raised meat, and continues that tradition today. We are proud to support the highest possible standards in animal husbandry at small, sustainable farms. We believe emphatically that foie gras meets those standards.

Ariane Daguin

Owner, D'Artagnan

Edited June 8, 2007 by Vadouvan (log)

[philadining]

It's totally understandable, probably even predictable, how this discussion has drifted to where it has, but before we get too far off track and force Katie to wield her terrifying powers, let's keep in mind that this is a Philly Food Media thread.

You know, alerts, discussion, critique of local media...

[MarketStEl]

Let us please refrain from unecessary name calling and attacks on the author.  If you think the article sucks, that's fine.  Please leave it at that.  This is the Daily News we're talking about here, people.  Not exactly a hotbed of Pulitzer prize winning material, no?   This is veering off course again...

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Well, no, but Daily News editorial cartoonist Signe Wilkinson won the editorial cartooning Pulitzer in 1992.

Sorry, just had to toss that tidbit in. Carry on...

[matthewj]

Stu needs to get his facts correct, and maybe do a little research, if that is too much to ask for a journalist. Ducks are not caged up like veal, false, tubes are not jammed down their throat, false. Most of the feed in Foiegras farms is soy. The picture that he discribes is closer to a unmainttained slaughter house. My guess is Stu never saw a Foie gras farm. Daily News or not, it is the responsiblity of any paper to get the facts accurate, and can I go as to say non biased. It seems to me that he feel he can print anything he wants under the guise of being an op-ed section of the paper.

Edited June 9, 2007 by matthewj (log)

[NaFairge]

there is a lot of stuff on youtube.com that may be giving people misinformation. i am sure there are other propaganda videos out there as well. does anyone have a **reliable** source about the honest-to-god production of foie?

[matthewj]

When I was up in NYC with Joel I did a class with Izzy Yanay, from Hudson Valley Foie gras farm. I will email it to you Nafairge. It is all the case studies, and production of Foie gras.

Edited June 9, 2007 by matthewj (log)

[Mummer]

The man is an established Philadelphia columnist. It is his job to write his opinion; that it is controversial is what his publisher wants. Opinion means he's not presenting the 4ws and an h from journalism 101.

Yesterday, city council voted 9-8 on a knee-jerk issue that's OT here. I don't want to see a similar action restricting a restauranteur's right to choose what's on the menu.

[NaFairge]

thanks matt. i have a book on foie gras by andoni luiz aduriz of mugaritz. it's very romantic and includes artwork and recipes dedicated to title. he studied liver at the university of bilbao (i believe it was there) to better understand the organ. his foie dishes are something else.

[Lisa1349]

Not a full food site, but enjoyable Phillyist

[MarketStEl]

This just in:

Jim Romenesko's widely read media scuttlebutt column at Poynter.org posted a link to a Web-only Philadelphia Weekly story reporting that the steakhouse owner who's suing Craig LaBan to make him eat his words may also blow his cover.

The story by Steve Volk reports that LaBan has already videotaped testimony in the case on June 5, and that the plaintiff's lawyers plan to use it when the libel case goes to trial.

Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc., argued in court that LaBan's anonymity was a trade secret and thus deserved protection. The judge wasn't buying it.

[Vadouvan]

Not a full food site, but enjoyable Phillyist

It isnt even a food site at all.

[Vadouvan]

How about that lame review of 707 in the philly weekly.

The reviewer say's a food item has an aftertaste of "poison".

Really ?

He's been fed arsenic or polonium before.

Why dont they just keep Kirsten Henri istead of hiring these B team amateurs ?

[cinghiale]

Maybe he was reminded of Poison and their unforgettable "Open Up and Say Ahh"

[Holly Moore]

To be fair, Brian McManus asserts the onion rings have an "almost poison-like" aftertaste not a "poisonous" aftertaste. But how does one distinguish between a "poison-like" and an "almost poison-like" aftertaste? Post-meal survival time?

What about those devious, flavorless poisons favored by Agatha Christie that don't taste the least bit "poison-like?" Or maybe the onion rings had a cyanidic aftertaste of almonds. So many possibilities.

A food critic, even a Philadelphia Weekly food critic, needs to be more precise.

For an insight into McManus's take on things, check out his earlier review of National Mechanics. He seems to have a predictable, starving college student view of yup-scale diners that carries through from the "swinish tribe of trend-worshiping, spray-tanned philistines who don’t mind dropping 10 bones or more each time they order a cocktail" who roam Old City to the "Washington Square scenesters” referenced in his Restaurant 707 ravaging.

Edited June 21, 2007 by Holly Moore (log)

[mrbigjas]

Maybe he was reminded of Poison and their unforgettable "Open Up and Say Ahh"

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haha look what the cat dragged in: poison onion rings!

sweeeeet