Rick Steves to Offer Gander at French Foie Gras Farm
Euro travel host nonpareil (and NORML advisory board member) Rick Steves writes at his Facebook page about how his love of of foie gras has led him to offer a tour of a French goose farm to show travelers the process of gavage, and to let them taste the delicacy:
I am fascinated that British travelers make a virtual pilgrimage to France’s Dordogne to celebrate the force-feeding of the geese and, once the geese are slaughtered, to eat their huge and tasty livers ‘ and yet, many Americans think the whole process should be outlawed. Few American anti-foie gras activists consider actually visiting a goose farm to talk with the owner and hang around for meal time (never much of a wait) to see the forced feeding. I have a favorite goose farm where our tour members could actually witness la gavage, as pulling the goose’s neck up and filling its belly with corn is called (the process reminds me of transferring cereal from one box to another). Our French guides were all for the visit, but when considering our itinerary, being there during hours the farm is formally welcoming the public would rush our Dordogne River canoe trip. I enjoy the canoe experience even more than a Mr. Rogers-type visit to a goose farm. I encouraged my staff to keep the canoe time sacred and beg the farmers for the love of goose-liver pâté to let us visit outside of regular hours. If that doesn’t work, we’ll visit an alternate farm, and have both wonderful French experiences as part of our tours in 2010.
More from Steves on his love of foie gras here and here, and a Christmas recipe here.
