Hudson Valley Foie Gras's policies reflect the efforts of animal rights advocates. And now it seems that this facility has become very vested in being humane; it is a source of pride (Thank you Humane Society, ASPCA, PETA, and individual protesters).
If Hudson Valley Foie Gras’s relatively humane practices result in high profits (the reason Grandin’s practices have been widely accepted is that humane treatment of animals does result in higher quality, safer products leading to higher profits) then perhaps more farms will follow suit. All of our animals need to be raised at least as humanely.
We need to continue to demand higher standards for all of our farms; for all of our animals. We need to continue to be animal rights advocates, if not for compassion, at least for quality and safety for human consumption. Sarah DiGregorio (“You can buy humanely raised chicken, or you can buy chicken that's had a nasty, brutal life. The same goes for foie gras.”) must recognize that the huge majority of farm animals consumed in the USA lead lives of horror and contamination, resulting in a dangerous food source (bad karma?). Most American simply turn a blind eye and ridicule a vegan instead. I hope she pursues this end.
Sarah DiGregorio neglected to address the quality of food fed to these ducks. The liver filters, biotransforms, and accumulates toxins. Consuming livers of animals gavaged with products loaded with pesticides is kinda gross. Maybe Hudson Valley Foie Gras can respond to this issue.
