Out of curiosity, do y'all eat pork? Pigs are smarter than dogs and young children, so probably smarter than octopi too (not even addressing the fact that My Octopus Teacher, while a very moving film, was total anthropomorphisation). And veal in France is not subject to the same torture that veal in the US is (just travel around the countryside in meat producing areas and you'll see them all out frolicking in the green fields, eating grass and drinking their mother's milk). You might want to open up to trying new experiences to truly enjoy French gastronomy.
Cathy - I agree with you that we need to learn more about farming practices in France, that’s good to know about veal. We do eat pork sometimes which is admittedly hypocritical. Thank you for the info on veal. I had a question about foie gras which I have been avoiding because I know in the US they use compressed air to cruelly force-feed geese and mass produce the fattened liver. Do they do the same in France? Do you have a book or website to recommend where we can learn more about food production in France?
omg, that's ATROCIOUS to use compressed air!! What kind of barbarians would do that?? Maybe people that allow the sale of AK47s and ban books and drag queens? LOL
I don't know of a specific website or book. I've been living in and travelling around France for around 30 years, so I have had numerous lovely experiences visiting agricultural production sites (and now I live in an area famous for beef, so I see the calves in the fields, and I used to date a veterinarian who assured me that the horrific force-feeding that happens in the US does not take place here.) It's really a question of scale. The US is all about mass / massive production so they resort to inhumane practices there (whether it be for veal, chicken, pigs, etc.) When I still lived in the US, I was a vegetarian, but after moving here and travelling around and interacting with the locals, the only things I don't eat now are grapefruit (long story) and tripe and andouillette, simply because I don't care for the flavor. Everything else is fair game, and I make a point to try everything offered to me by French hosts at least once (so, yes, once I was served a horse steak to my horror, but I have to admit it was delicious... however, I've never eaten it again...)
I have also had the opportunity in France to visit farms to taste their foie gras and the producers showed me how lovingly they raise their geese and ducks and even treated me to a mealtime exhibit where they would ring a bell in the farmyard, and the geese and ducks would all come running and squawking and put their beaks up to the chute where the corn and/or figs or whatever else they were feeding them would come pouring down, and the only rough treatment the birds received was when they were forcibly *removed* from the feeding tube so that others could have their turn... Geese and ducks are as greedy as a labrador when it comes to food, so there was definitely no compressed air around. This one family of foie gras producers I met literally had photo albums of their geese and duck families, that's how much they loved them. So I would suggest finding opportunities to go to the countless food and wine fairs where small producers can present their wares, and you'll be blown away by how much amazing food is produced on a small scale here. It's the same thing with wine. Do you drink Ernest & Julio Gallo in the US? I'm betting probably not... there's nothing like going to a tiny family winery and hanging out with several generations of winemakers who are passionate about their craft... but I ramble on. I'm madly in love with this country, despite its numerous flaws, and one of the best aspects of life here is the cuisine and wine. I hope y'all will fall in love with it too. :)
I realized this morning that I misunderstood what you wrote about the documentary you probably *watched* it in the US, but it was on foie gras produced in France.... so, yes, there are most likely barbaric practices here, but I would bet that happens in large-scale, industrial production sites. I would never buy foie gras for example (or numerous other specialities) at the grocery store. It's so easy to eat farm-to-table in France, even if you live in a big city. During the dozen or so years I lived in Paris, I attended every food and wine fair I could (they tend to take place in the spring and fall/early winter and I know Montpellier has a few as well), and I would stock up on goodies there (foie gras freezes really well in vacuum-sealed pouches for example) or I found small shops where they truly care about quality and can tell you about their suppliers. Now that I live in southern Burgundy, I buy my goat cheese from a local goat farm, all of my wine comes from local winemakers (and I still attend wine fairs to buy directly from winemakers in other areas of France) and my favorite local restaurant only serves locally-sourced, almost all organic meat and vegetables. It's a question of taking the time to find people who care. Scratch the surface and France is teeming with them. Of course, there are horrors here too (never have I ever seen so many McDonald's in my life and they are always *packed* so not every French person has good taste, as you experienced at the Dancing Mouse LOL). Good luck with finding your way here, and if I can be of assistance in any way, I'd be happy to help.
Out of curiosity, do y'all eat pork? Pigs are smarter than dogs and young children, so probably smarter than octopi too (not even addressing the fact that My Octopus Teacher, while a very moving film, was total anthropomorphisation). And veal in France is not subject to the same torture that veal in the US is (just travel around the countryside in meat producing areas and you'll see them all out frolicking in the green fields, eating grass and drinking their mother's milk). You might want to open up to trying new experiences to truly enjoy French gastronomy.
Cathy - I agree with you that we need to learn more about farming practices in France, that’s good to know about veal. We do eat pork sometimes which is admittedly hypocritical. Thank you for the info on veal. I had a question about foie gras which I have been avoiding because I know in the US they use compressed air to cruelly force-feed geese and mass produce the fattened liver. Do they do the same in France? Do you have a book or website to recommend where we can learn more about food production in France?
omg, that's ATROCIOUS to use compressed air!! What kind of barbarians would do that?? Maybe people that allow the sale of AK47s and ban books and drag queens? LOL
I don't know of a specific website or book. I've been living in and travelling around France for around 30 years, so I have had numerous lovely experiences visiting agricultural production sites (and now I live in an area famous for beef, so I see the calves in the fields, and I used to date a veterinarian who assured me that the horrific force-feeding that happens in the US does not take place here.) It's really a question of scale. The US is all about mass / massive production so they resort to inhumane practices there (whether it be for veal, chicken, pigs, etc.) When I still lived in the US, I was a vegetarian, but after moving here and travelling around and interacting with the locals, the only things I don't eat now are grapefruit (long story) and tripe and andouillette, simply because I don't care for the flavor. Everything else is fair game, and I make a point to try everything offered to me by French hosts at least once (so, yes, once I was served a horse steak to my horror, but I have to admit it was delicious... however, I've never eaten it again...)
I have also had the opportunity in France to visit farms to taste their foie gras and the producers showed me how lovingly they raise their geese and ducks and even treated me to a mealtime exhibit where they would ring a bell in the farmyard, and the geese and ducks would all come running and squawking and put their beaks up to the chute where the corn and/or figs or whatever else they were feeding them would come pouring down, and the only rough treatment the birds received was when they were forcibly *removed* from the feeding tube so that others could have their turn... Geese and ducks are as greedy as a labrador when it comes to food, so there was definitely no compressed air around. This one family of foie gras producers I met literally had photo albums of their geese and duck families, that's how much they loved them. So I would suggest finding opportunities to go to the countless food and wine fairs where small producers can present their wares, and you'll be blown away by how much amazing food is produced on a small scale here. It's the same thing with wine. Do you drink Ernest & Julio Gallo in the US? I'm betting probably not... there's nothing like going to a tiny family winery and hanging out with several generations of winemakers who are passionate about their craft... but I ramble on. I'm madly in love with this country, despite its numerous flaws, and one of the best aspects of life here is the cuisine and wine. I hope y'all will fall in love with it too. :)
I realized this morning that I misunderstood what you wrote about the documentary you probably *watched* it in the US, but it was on foie gras produced in France.... so, yes, there are most likely barbaric practices here, but I would bet that happens in large-scale, industrial production sites. I would never buy foie gras for example (or numerous other specialities) at the grocery store. It's so easy to eat farm-to-table in France, even if you live in a big city. During the dozen or so years I lived in Paris, I attended every food and wine fair I could (they tend to take place in the spring and fall/early winter and I know Montpellier has a few as well), and I would stock up on goodies there (foie gras freezes really well in vacuum-sealed pouches for example) or I found small shops where they truly care about quality and can tell you about their suppliers. Now that I live in southern Burgundy, I buy my goat cheese from a local goat farm, all of my wine comes from local winemakers (and I still attend wine fairs to buy directly from winemakers in other areas of France) and my favorite local restaurant only serves locally-sourced, almost all organic meat and vegetables. It's a question of taking the time to find people who care. Scratch the surface and France is teeming with them. Of course, there are horrors here too (never have I ever seen so many McDonald's in my life and they are always *packed* so not every French person has good taste, as you experienced at the Dancing Mouse LOL). Good luck with finding your way here, and if I can be of assistance in any way, I'd be happy to help.
Loved this :) If you haven't checked it out, I recommend https://parisbymouth.substack.com