Contested Tastes: Foie Gras and the Politics of Food

by Michaela DeSoucey

An inside look at the complex and controversial debates surrounding foie grasWho cares about foie gras? As it turns out, many do. In the last decade, this French delicacy—the fattened liver of ducks or geese that have been force-fed through a tube—has been at the center of contentious battles between animal rights activists, artisanal farmers, industry groups, politicians, chefs, and foodies. In Contested Tastes, Michaela DeSoucey takes us to farms, restaurants, protests, and political hearings in both the United States and France to reveal why people care so passionately about foie gras––and why we should care too.Bringing together fieldwork, interviews, and materials from archives and the media on both sides of the Atlantic, DeSoucey offers a compelling look at the moral arguments and provocative actions of pro- and anti-foie gras forces. She combines personal stories with fair-minded analysis of the social contexts within which foie gras is loved and loathed. From the barns of rural southwest France and the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels, to exclusive New York City kitchens and the government offices of Chicago, DeSoucey demonstrates that the debates over foie gras involve heated and controversial politics. Her rich and nuanced account draws our attention to the cultural dynamics of markets, the multivocal nature of "gastropolitics," and the complexities of what it means to identify as a "moral" eater in today's food world.Investigating the causes and consequences of the foie gras wars, Contested Tastes illuminates the social significance of food and taste in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Sociology, Food, Nonfiction

291 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2016

Reviews

[Fvandrog · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fair review on the, indeed, contested status of foie gras.

In my view it especially exposes the hypocrisy and blindness to reason from the side of animal rights activists, without sparing those in favor of foie gras from their faults. What does become exceptionally clear is that the production of foie gras is much less cruel and less of a torture than often depicted by aforementioned animal right activists.

I would definitely recommend this book for those interested in food politics; DeSoucey manages to give a rather balanced and neutral view in this well written book.

[Chiaoyu Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

作者爬梳眾多資料、田野調查試圖讓讀者對肥肝的議題有更全面的認識，是讀者可以期待從書中獲得的收穫
從所有資料顯示，反對者立場薄弱，並沒有統一且完整的論述，如果肥肝需要被特別檢視，是否此標準將要被適用於所有畜牧業，這將是一個疑問
而支持者維護立場的依據也有其道理，除了與發源地法國有深厚的歷史文化淵源，也講到肥肝的存在來自鵝鴨攝取過多食物已囤積脂肪的自然特性，只是這樣的傳統有是否有必要被保存並將其商業化，也是爭議之所在
最後作者提到肥肝與魚翅的比較，我認為這兩者並非可以相提並論的議題，鵝鴨的養殖已是畜牧業的一環，養殖的目的是最終要被宰殺，然而魚翅的來源並非來自平常養殖漁業的一環，此外鯊魚的過度捕撈也會造成生態系上的危害
兩者的相同之處在我看來只有兩點，第一這兩種食物都被視為高貴的象徵而吸引消費者購買，第二兩者皆不是人類必須攝取的營養素來源之一
是否有必要消費在這樣的食物之上，就像作者留給消費道德評斷的空間一樣，只能由消費者自行衡量

[bks · Rating 4 out of 5]

DeSoucey analyzed different ideologies behind the foie gras movement, and how it shaped culinary landscape and people's gastronomical beliefs. Culinary choice is a part of our identity and a reflection of our moral beliefs. Investigating foie gras sheds lights into the shaping of Zeitgeist in waves of social movements and counter-movements.

[queenie m. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The argument is weak and with a lot of repetitions that could hardly back-up the writer’s point of view.

The relationship between the consumption of foie gras and politic is an interesting topic but it seems that it needs a lot more elaboration to make the argument more convincing.

[Benji · Rating 2 out of 5]

Foie gras, paired with butternut and yellow beet (om nom nom nom), more of a sacrificial lamb than a red herring.

[smallwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quoted by
"動保團體: 關於肥肝這個議題，不是我們選擇戰場的戰場，是戰場選擇了我們"

本書完美演繹了極端的 SJW 和 以"師出以保障少數人利益，圖自身利益"的極致
國族驕傲來掩蓋自身是資本主義的剝削方
或是以左之名謀自身利益
根本就是一個反極左打極右的反省