The Foie Gras Wars: How a 5,000-Year-Old Delicacy Inspired the World's Fiercest Food Fight

I have been a fan of foie gras for at least thirty years. I have vivid recollections of having enjoying it in a Paris cafe where a foie gras mousse was served stuffed inside of fresh figs. I buy it on special occasions due to it's richness and cost. Yes, I know how it is made, yes it does seem cruel but no more so than many of the things that we do to the animals that provide us with our food. So why all the fuss over this rare and unique delicacy? This book asks that question in a style that is both amusing and riveting. The author gives the history of foie gras as well and it's current place in the world of gastronomy. I learned many things that I had no idea about, including why ducks and geese are used for this dish (since both are migratory birds their body evolved with the ability to gain weight rapidly, including storing fat in their liver, in preparation for long flights) and that there are ancient Egyptian carving depicting the force feeding of geese. But what fascinated me the most was the often funny stories of how a Chicago chef started this controversy in the first place and how foie gras stirred up an already simmering war between two cultures. As Mark Caro explores the question of why the animal rights movement picked this little known dish as a focal point for their cause I am reminded of when Oprah Winfrey made the comment that she would never eat another hamburger after hearing details about mad cow disease from a guest on her show. Four Amarillo ranching families and their cattle companies SUED her for allegedly causing them to lose money. I can't help but think that the small foie gras industry seemed like safe and easy pickings (that and the "cute" images of ducks that many people seem to harbor create more sympathy for these "victims" than for cows, chickens or pigs). I have to admit that I am in more awe of this food than I was before I read this book. I especially enjoyed the chapter entitled "Foie Gras Weekend" that takes place in France (the author mentions finding the titular product for sale in a French gas station of all places). Still, I am in favor of treating animals more humanely and this book raises some serious questions about how we treat the creatures that we use for food. It gave me a lot to think about as well as entertained and educated me. This is an excellent, well balanced book about a controversial topic. Well done! Caviar, Truffles, and Foie Gras: Recipes for Divine Indulgence

Mr. Caro is a Chicago journalist in that great gritty tradition. He gives us a work as one expects from a working reporter. He has no axe to grind, no flag to wrap about his own self. What a relief! If you are interested in this narrow subject of duck livers, then read this book for his thorough and professional treatment. But the wider appeal, because he writes so well, is to anybody interested in the American Spectacle of personalities, politicians and the media. This book is about a fight. The story starts small, Charlie Trotter as protagonist and his lost mignon, Tramonto as first of many antagonists. I just read his book "Osteria". My last review on Mr. Trotter was for his superb, if difficult book "Raw". These guys are antithetical, captured expertly by Mr. Caro. If I could offer the difference between these two chefs, it would be Trotter's cooking as dominance, while Tramonto is cooking of surrender to spiritual essence. Mr. Caro does not much venture into philosophy or theology. Those are red herrings because his book is about a fight in the grand American tradition so reported by Mencken under headings of "Buncombe", aka "bunk". I like how Mr. Caro does not much editorialize. He leaves that guff to those empty suits who use the editorial page as their two-faced bully pulpit. He observes and reports. He quotes and questions; he lets the reader figure out the rest. With a story like this, I do not want my reporter worrying about deep thinking. Just give me, please, skilled and honest reportage. If You want more on ethics and science, I recommend Peter Singer and Michael Pollan. Mr. Caro does give us just enough of his personal thoughts, but never in a shoe-banging fashion. It is easy to see how the James Beard Foundation gave this book their award. I do not want to spoil the rest of this book. Mr. Caro is thorough. He takes us from New York's Hudson Valley to Israel and to the Mecca of foie, Perigourd. This book reaches far afield of foie, cover photo to the contrary. He looks at chickens, cows and turkeys. I am always surprised how many turkeys dinde) we eat in France. This book reaches all those who follow media and the great circus that follows in Chicago. Before any spoilers, all you need to know is that the Chicago political and media is reported at their best in the rest of the book. Too good to miss. By the way, D'Artagnan is my favorite purveyor of all things duck and goose. They are in New Jersey and easily found. They have my highest recommendation after twenty-five years of personal experience.

Note on reviewer (my bias): I am a foodie and a meat eater. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mark Caro's assessment of the Foie Gras situation. That's the best way to describe it: "The Foie Gras Situation". Because, as Mark points out, this is about more than eating the livers (and thereby bodies) of force-fed ducks. This is about really thinking about what it means to be a connessoir. Marc begins the book by talking about how Foie Gras first came to controversy in Chicago. Then he goes through a brief history of the dish, dating back to ancient Egyptian times. Following that he explores the different methods of creating it, and gives even handed voice to both the farmers who produce it as well as the activists who wish to stop it. He examines the information and misinformation produced by both sides. It seems like most of the Foie Gras farmers will be the first to admit that this "new" dish to the modern pallet went through some growing pains. This new industry has to learn things like "cages=bad" and different feeding methods that could be less stressful to the animals. The author goes through details of variety of movements to ban Foie Gras, as well as attempts to keep the small farmers viable. I ended the book pretty much in the same boat as the author. I'm not not sure what to think. This is not because force feeding could be considered "cruel", no matter how much pain is taken to reduce the the stress on the animal. The conflict comes because any form of animal eating is going to be considered "cruel" to a certain extent; and some forms (such as egg or milk production...things that most vegetarians eat, BTW) are even worse. What any meat eater needs to remember is that they need to thank the animal activists for making sure that their food (duck) is being raised in clean and as-humane-as-possible environment. A healthy environment means healthy (and better tasting) food. This is a good thing. What the activists need to remember is that their lifestyle choice is a belief. It is a dogma, and the more they try to push their beliefs on others; the more backlash they will receive. The activist groups openly admit that they are focusing on Foie Gras because it is a small and easy target on their route to ban all meat. It reminds me tactics used in the 80's when Tipper Gore and the PMRC tried to fine and ban independent label punk bands instead of artists on Sony or Warner because it was "economically viable to our interests". Their goal was to harass small labels and then move on to the majors. The activists say they target Foie Gras as a small goal, and then they'll have a foothold to go after major "factory farms". This brings us to foodie dilemma: 1) to be a foodie one must enjoy the best of all flavors and tastes available prepared in the most wonderful ways. 2) to be a foodie one is concerned with the production and care taken to produce the ingredients that go into their meals (e.g. is it from local organic produce? is

I ordered this book just because it sounded esoteric and interesting, and was in for a lovely surprise. This book is a fascinating journey through the world of foie gras. the people that make it, the people that cook it, the people that oppose it. the book gives you a great, descriptive inside look, and despite the theoretically niche aspect of the product, it really is a far reaching book. as i was sitting outside in my pesticide free yard, eating a vegan organic meal that i cooked, i was thinking -- i need to buy foie gras at the next restaurant i go to -- not because i have a sudden urge to eat it (it is quite good though), but to support small farmers and the artisan movement that is one of the great aspects to the book. it puts aside moral simplicity that is often used by animal rights groups (many of whom I support) and shows how stupid some of the arguments are, and paints this in a broader concept of food production and farming in general, and the various lives that it touches you will learn about the history of foie gras, and how it is produced, and the controversy around it, but more interestingly, you will learn about the people involved in the production, the cultural history, the people involved in the preparation, and the people involved fighting for and against it -- it is a very human book, told in a fast, descriptive, and thoroughly engaging way. super interesting, and great for conversation

I was pleasantly surprised when reading The Foie Gras Wars at how informative the book was. Having taken many Animal Science, Animal Morality, Species Dissection, and even a Meat Processing class in college, I was expecting The Foie Gras Wars to be a watered down or highly biased "layman's version" of what is really going on in the meat processing industry. It was not. Mark Caro did a good job of remaining relatively unbiased regarding the moral practices of creating Foie Gras. He gave a detailed history of the delicacy, a startlingly frank explanation of how the animals are force fed into having these giant livers, and the standpoints of many famous chefs on whether or not they would serve this controversial dish. I was so intrigued that I even went online to find videos of Foie Gras production. Some were shocking, while others showed humane treatment of the animals. While the book does get slow at several points, I believe the information was pertinent. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a glimpse into one small section of the meat processing industry. Recommended.