Mark Caro

When reknown Charlie Trotter announced that he was going to stop serving foie gras in his restaurant, it started a debate that raged through the media, in restaurants, among farmers and animal activists.

Without pulling any punches, the author presents an unbiased look at the foie gras industry, the history of the delicacy in addition to other special 'treats' such as the eating ortolans that have since been banned, farming methods of ducks and geese bred primarily for their fattened livers although the rest of the ducks and geese are also sold to restaurants and markets for consumption. But it's the fattened livers, made into terrines or pan seared that bring a gleam to the eye of chefs and diners. The methods by which the ducks and geese are fed resulting in their prized engorged livers are what has some people protesting against the sale and consumption of foie gras. On the other hand, there are those who claim to have proof that the ducks and geese suffer no stress from being force fed and that left to their own devices, they would eat nonstop anyway. Therefore in their opinion, force feeding these waterfowl doesn't constitute torture.

The research provides unbiased information and one is left to up one's own mind on which side of the fence one stands.… (mehr)

Definitely an interesting read, but only 3 stars because I found myself skipping around the book. Caro breaks up his stories a bit -- kind of like what you find on TV shows with multiple story lines -- and I couldn't be bothered to wait until he decided to get back to the story I was interested in to finish it off (e.g. in one case I wanted to follow the story of the Chicago city council vote without having to wait a couple hundred pages for it to be resolved). I also would skip around because I wanted to read about specific chefs and their responses to the increasing pressure to ban foie gras (Bourdain has a limited role, but you'll find all sorts of Philadelphia and Chicago chefs mentioned). I think the only section that is relatively coherent is the long string of farms that he visits to describe the condition of the animals. So I limit my stars because I didn't like the book's structure -- an admittedly subjective opinion.But I liked reading the book and finding myself getting irritated by one side or the other, which was unexpected since I went into it thinking I was on the fence about the topic. I think I actually was just not very informed. And that's the result of this book. Caro, to my read, is not a proponent of either pro- or anti- foie gras, which is great. However, I did find that the book made me more "one side or the other" rather than "middle of the road" -- and in this case I think that polarization of the reader is a good thing.… (mehr)