Selfridges Foie Gras row.

[david goodfellow]

Whilst waiting for my Xmas lunch to cook I stumbled across THIS article in the Mail about celeb butcher Jack O Shea selling " under the counter foie gras " to his customers in the Selfridges concession, and embarrassingly being escorted from said premises after being discovered.

Mr O Shea is unrepentant.

What do you think?

Right or Wrong?

[Mjx]

Well, it's stupid, if nothing else. How did think he would not get caught? And if he could set up this sort of network, why not do it from his home, or something, rather than from a large shop that may not actually care about animal rights, but does like to make the profitable pretense of it?

[sunbeam]

Seems clear cut, Selfridges decided not to sell it and he undermined their position. Only one thing they could do once faced with the evidence.

So much cant about foie, I love the stuff. Not so keen on halal meat though, seems wilfully cruel to me and does not make a nicer meat product as far as I can tell. Dont see anyone trying to ban it though.

As for the evening standard and their 'sting' what a disgusting paper, no wonder they have been reduced to giving it away.

S

[nikkib]

I assume selfridges have stopped selling fur, leather, anything made by underage children in sweatshops and know the provenance of all the diamonds and gem stones sold throughout the store?

[Broken English]

Well, it's stupid, if nothing else. How did think he would not get caught? And if he could set up this sort of network, why not do it from his home, or something, rather than from a large shop that may not actually care about animal rights, but does like to make the profitable pretense of it?

Because his customers go to his shop, not his home, for meat?

All he's doing is fulfilling a demand for a product which is perfectly legal, but is chosen as an easy target for animal rights terrorists.

It's good to see someone standing up and being unrepentant. It's just a shame he'll probably lose his business over it.

Great points nikkib, but we all know that foie gras is the most evil product on the market, and must be stopped at all costs.

[Mjx]

Well, it's stupid, if nothing else. How did think he would not get caught? And if he could set up this sort of network, why not do it from his home, or something, rather than from a large shop that may not actually care about animal rights, but does like to make the profitable pretense of it?

Because his customers go to his shop, not his home, for meat?

All he's doing is fulfilling a demand for a product which is perfectly legal, but is chosen as an easy target for animal rights terrorists.

It's good to see someone standing up and being unrepentant. It's just a shame he'll probably lose his business over it.

Great points nikkib, but we all know that foie gras is the most evil product on the market, and must be stopped at all costs.

One could go into the whole foie gras thing again, or argue one way or the other, regarding Selfridges hypocrisy, but what this particular incident is really about is someone gambling, and losing.

O' Shea's arrangement with Selfridge's was to not sell foie gras; he did that off his own bat, he took his chances.

So he gambled, and lost. The only grownup way to handle this sort of thing is to be philosophical; boohooing, pouting, and going all defensive are just embarrassing and babyish.

[sunbeam]

Yes the issue is not about foie gras per se but the fact that he broke an agreement. He should either have accepted Selfridges' rules or terminated his business with them. I suppose he wanted to have his cake (or foie) and eat it and he got found out.

I remember during the BSE crisis my butcher would still sell beef on the bone to those that wanted it (me for one), we conducted our transactions in nods, winks and opaque carrier bags. It was rather fun.

[Broken English]

Well, it's stupid, if nothing else. How did think he would not get caught? And if he could set up this sort of network, why not do it from his home, or something, rather than from a large shop that may not actually care about animal rights, but does like to make the profitable pretense of it?

Because his customers go to his shop, not his home, for meat?

All he's doing is fulfilling a demand for a product which is perfectly legal, but is chosen as an easy target for animal rights terrorists.

It's good to see someone standing up and being unrepentant. It's just a shame he'll probably lose his business over it.

Great points nikkib, but we all know that foie gras is the most evil product on the market, and must be stopped at all costs.

One could go into the whole foie gras thing again, or argue one way or the other, regarding Selfridges hypocrisy, but what this particular incident is really about is someone gambling, and losing.

O' Shea's arrangement with Selfridge's was to not sell foie gras; he did that off his own bat, he took his chances.

So he gambled, and lost. The only grownup way to handle this sort of thing is to be philosophical; boohooing, pouting, and going all defensive are just embarrassing and babyish.

You are correct, he shouldn't have agreed to the terms. He did make a silly agreement, ignored it, and now is paying the price, that's a given.

I wasn't attacking you at all, I am just lamenting how the food is slowly but surely going the way of the Dodo, especially now that I'm living in a country where we can buy fresh lobes at semi-reasonable prices, rather than the mi-cuit blocks at horrendously expensive prices, like in Australia.

[Snadra]

.......

So much cant about foie, I love the stuff. Not so keen on halal meat though, seems wilfully cruel to me and does not make a nicer meat product as far as I can tell. Dont see anyone trying to ban it though.

As for the evening standard and their 'sting' what a disgusting paper, no wonder they have been reduced to giving it away.

S

I don't understand the point you are trying to make here. The production of foie gras is about creating a particular taste. Why should halal meat (or kosher meat for that matter) taste better if its purpose is adherence to religious belief? And in what way is the production of halal meat crueler than that of 'regular' meat anyway?

[ScoopKW]

I assume selfridges have stopped selling fur, leather, anything made by underage children in sweatshops and know the provenance of all the diamonds and gem stones sold throughout the store?

I was just there. You assume incorrectly. (Although I wouldn't know which designer brands use sweatshop labor. I assume the answer is probably "all of them.")

Today it's foie. But fur, leather, all protein other than bean and soy-based -- that's all on their list. They chip away at the "easy" targets first. Thus numbing us to feeling of having our rights legislated away. (They're using the legislature in California, and the bully pulpit in London.)

If they have their way, 20 years from now the Evening Standard Fishwrapper headline will be the same. Just replace "foie" with "milk."

"Man Fired from Selfridge's Soy Court for Selling Cow's Milk"

[Andrew]

I've got no sympathy for him. They made the rules and he chose to make some extra profit by breaking them. If he didn't like their rules he could have opened up somewhere else. The rule may or may not be stupid (that is another discussion) but the choice was his. I'm sure he wasn't selling it at cost but making a healthy profit on top, he gambled and lost.

[Mjx]

I assume selfridges have stopped selling fur, leather, anything made by underage children in sweatshops and know the provenance of all the diamonds and gem stones sold throughout the store?

I was just there. You assume incorrectly. (Although I wouldn't know which designer brands use sweatshop labor. I assume the answer is probably "all of them.")

nikkib's comment was intended as irony.

Today it's foie. But fur, leather, all protein other than bean and soy-based -- that's all on their list. . . .

We already did all this, elsewhere, and this has nothing to do with someone making a dumb choice; let's not turn this guy into a martyr for a cause.

[ScoopKW]

While I agree that selling foie contrary to the wishes of one's employer is both poor form and counterproductive; it wouldn't be an issue if Selfridges hadn't caved to the anti-foie crowd.