Secondhand Smoke (Blog)
Animal Rights Activists Like Wolves Picking Off the Weaklings of the Herd
By Wesley J. Smith
Thursday, March 06, 2008
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/03/animal-rights-activists-like-wolves.html

I write often here about animal rights, most often to decry the
violence in the movement. But we shouldn't lose sight of the perfectly
legal methods liberationists also apply to end the domestic use of all
animals.

One of the most effective, is to focus attention on a few discreet
alleged "abuses" of animals at a time. This is smart. Animal products
are so ubiquitous that railing against them all would be to disburse
the movement's energies and render it impotent. So liberationists
choose a few primary enemies at at time, allowing all aspects of the
movement from the theorists, to the lawyers, to the political
activists, to the terrorists, to concentrates their attention like a
knife point and do real damage.

This is why the movement is now so focused on foie gras--the product
made from overfed duck and goose livers--with a national effort
underway to legally outlaw foie gras. It worked in California. And
now, there is an attempt in Maryland to legally ban the sale of foie
gras even though none is made in the state. From the story:

"The Senate's education, health and environment committee, accustomed
to debating global warming, septic systems and high-school dropout
rates, heard two hours of testimony on the durability of goose gullets
and whether a duck feels pain as its liver is fattened up..."

This seems an odd choice because far fewer birds are killed in fois
gras manufacture than are chickens or turkeys. But it makes good
tactical sense: First, it is a delicacy, so unlike, say milk, few
people consume it and thus will not respond defensively to the
criticisms. Second, the method of fattening the livers of the
birds--forced feeding through a tube--allows liberationists to claim
that foie gras is especially cruel in both the method of swelling the
birds' livers and the alleged suffering thereby caused. Foie fras
producers scoff. They claim that the birds don't mind being overfed at
all, that birds in the wild stuff themselves in preparation for
winter, and moreover, that at least one study shows no increased
stress in the birds having food poured through a pipe down their
gullets. But empirical analysis isn't the point of the liberationists'
attack--by hook or by crook they seek the destruction of all meat
industries.

The point of this post isn't to defend foie gras but to note that
animal liberationists are like wolves picking off the weakling in the
herd. It went after sow gestation crates in Florida because there are
very few pig farmers in that state, and they knew the pork industry
would be too shortsighted to spend sufficient resources to defend the
use of crates in Florida. Now, it is attacking foie gras producers,
which are few and far between in this country, knowing that other food
industries are unlikely to rally to that small industry's defense. And
slowly but surely, various meat products and practices are being
constrained.

Credit where credit is due: This is effective advocacy and smart politics.

Folks need to realize these Religious Vegan nut jobs will end all meat eating one ban at a time if it is up to them.


Baltimore Business Journal
Put that foie gras down, activists warn
by Julekha Dash
March 12, 2008
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/03/10/daily28.html

A Baltimore animal rights group has said it will ramp up its protests
at restaurants that serve foie gras, following the state's decision to
reject a bill that would have banned the production and sale of the
delicacy.

The Maryland Senate rejected the foie gras bill March 10, after the
House of Delegates withdrew the bill from the legislature March 4.

The Baltimore Animal Rights Coalition said it will picket several
Baltimore restaurants on Saturday, including Charleston and the
Oceanaire Seafood Room in Harbor East and Aldo's Restaurant in Little
Italy because the eateries sell foie gras. Animal rights activists say
foie gras should be taken off menus because it is produced by inhumane
methods that involve force feeding ducks or geese.

The animal rights group began protesting in front of several Baltimore
restaurants in the fall, including Salt and Timothy Dean Bistro in
Fells Point and Ten-O-Six, a Federal Hill eatery that serves Thai and
American food.

After the protests began, Timothy Dean took foie gras off its menu.

The Oceanaire serves foie gras occasionally, at the request of
specific customers, General Manager Nate Beachler said. "We believe
the option of choice should be left to our customers," Beachler said.

"It's unfortunate they feel compelled to disturb small business people
and diners who are looking to enjoy their evening," Charleston
co-owner Tony Foreman wrote in an e-mail.

Some restaurant owners say the protests have been disruptive to the
neighborhood and their customers. The Restaurant Association of
Maryland believes the state's decision to reject the ban shows that
the groups' claims hold little water, said Melvin Thompson, vice
president of government relations.

"We believe that the option [of serving foie gras] should be the with
restaurateur and not decided arbitrarily," Thompson said.

Animal rights activists say Maryland should follow the lead of the
Chicago City Council and many nations including Israel, Poland and
Germany that have already banned the sale of foie gras.

haha thats funny! thats why i dont own a buisness,,if be arrested soon as they set foot near me