Duck Duck Goose Liver

Hey, kids! Did you know that eighty-five percent of Pennsylvanians think foie gras (foy grass) should be banned? Sure, it was a ridiculously leading question — Do you want the stop the rupturing of duck organs or are you with the terrorists? — but, hey, eighty-five percent!

Despite an Inquirer Sunday cover story and the harsh words of smoking ban opponent/Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky, a group of Philadelphia chefs continue to fight back against those who wish to stop the force-feeding of ducks. It’s hard, of course, for me to figure out a reason why I should really care about this issue at all, but the tactics of the anti-foie gras people are hilarious:

[T]he Hugs for Puppies group has moved onto other restaurants, picketing the businesses and homes of chefs like David Ansill who recently removed foie gras from his menu at his restaurant Ansill after protesters hounded his customers and staff and leafleted his neighborhood for months. “When I talked to him he hadn’t slept in 15 days,” says foie gras distributor [Ariane] Daguin. “The acts of the protesters are nearly terroristic,” she says. Said Ansill wearily: “It wasn’t worth it. I caved.”

Meanwhile, the London Grille — on the front lines of the most pointless battle ever — has invited the author of Foie Gras: A Passion for The Book and the Cook. Meanwhile, City Councilman Jack Kelly told Time (Update: Err, apparently, Kelly told Metro.) he “could care less about those snobby French chefs. They can stick their $5 foie gras up their rears.” Ha ha, get it, the French! Snobby! Putting duck liver up their asses!

Fight for Your Right to Pâté (cute) [Time]
The book, the cook… the war? [Metropolis]