tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post7853541299616866532..comments2007-11-07T10:14:16.670-05:00Bob del Grossohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836391227499190970Bobdelgrosso@gmail.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post-59915068903531354932007-11-07T10:14:16.670-05:002007-11-07T10:14:16.670-05:00One thing was not able to do when I was at the Hudson Valley was to visit the foie gras farm. I din't see any miserable ducks in your slide show. That is a very humane way to treat a giver of such heavenly foie!veronhttp://kitchenmusings.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post-60774985635612041442007-11-07T09:36:52.395-05:002007-11-07T09:36:52.395-05:00by the by, in response to the tagline on one of your photos;<BR/><BR/>Does Pardus EVER look impressed?! haha everytime I see him its that exact expression.<BR/><BR/>His daughter was actually in Caterina yesterday helping us pick herbs and peel potatoes as he ate dinner/chatted, cute kid..wonder if she'll end up like her dad.The Foodisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04214354265691701714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post-79141924248415284902007-11-06T19:13:26.694-05:002007-11-06T19:13:26.694-05:00PS My "y" key is sticking again on my laptop. Daughters, no food around the laptop! ;-)Scottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16063226065977087856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post-55486103231506744032007-11-06T18:33:52.204-05:002007-11-06T18:33:52.204-05:00Bob,<BR/><BR/>I have been mulling this over since you posted. It took until this morning to post at m own place, and 'til now to post at yours. Bottom line: we are dealing with two visceral responses to two different issues in the foie gras debate.<BR/><BR/>The first is the issue of slaughtering animals for food. I have never done it for anything higher in the food chain than lobster, and I am not sure I could. I have good friends who raised pigs and hunted for food, but I am not sure I could be there for the act of killing. But, I was happy to be there later to break down and cook the product.<BR/><BR/>(As a weird side note, I also dated their daughter for a couple of years, especially when she was at New Paltz. Synchronicity. Her sister constantly reminds me that I am lucky that I didn't ask her to marry me)<BR/><BR/>For me, I kick the kids out when I split a lobster, but I have no problem taking them into the cooler of a very nice local custom butcher to look at beef carcasses hanging, so they can see where their meat comes from.<BR/><BR/>No, the problem is that people don't get the other visceral image: gavage. I saw nothing in our pictures that showed suffering from the practice, but people don't see that. They see a tube put down their own throat and look at it like waterboarding. I've had a tube down my nose to feed me - it saved my life. But, somebody independent has to explain that ducks/geese ain't people, and that they aren't (or are) suffering.<BR/><BR/>Good job, Bob!Scottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16063226065977087856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post-1968197363941391922007-11-06T14:06:43.633-05:002007-11-06T14:06:43.633-05:00Sean you wrote<BR/>"I guess that when one gets beyond those philosophical discussions, that emotional response is what distinguishes vegans from the rest of the omnivorous community."<BR/><BR/>I think you have hit upon something profound here. When I went into the slaughter room I was only slightly jarred by what I saw. The angst lasted less than a second, after that the scene just became interesting. <BR/><BR/>My guess is that you would have had a very different reaction.Bob del Grossohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836391227499190970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post-85974384250608396802007-11-06T12:20:42.626-05:002007-11-06T12:20:42.626-05:00love the pictures<BR/><BR/>miss the hudson valley<BR/><BR/>good to see that picture of you and pardus<BR/><BR/>if someone told me ten years ago I would be looking at pictures on a blog with former teachers wouldn't have believed itredmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07453346250359710788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post-81311007892151431732007-11-06T08:44:31.708-05:002007-11-06T08:44:31.708-05:00Thanks for the photos and the perspective on what is perhaps the best, most humane foie gras operation in the United States. Your pictures underscored for me the reasons why I became vegan and continue to advocate that lifestyle. I can't get over the absurdity of raising and manipulating these animals solely to satiate our gustatory desires. Thousands of animals will be bred and raised in those hatching sheds, will be moved to other sheds, then finally kept in pens to be deliberately fattened beyond their natural capacity -- all for a great mouth feel? I still like the smell of bacon and am tempted by sizzle of beef but beyond my philosophical motivations, I'm viscerally repulsed and saddened by this state of affairs. I guess that when one gets beyond those philosophical discussions, that emotional response is what distinguishes vegans from the rest of the omnivorous community.Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425748399576955187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post-19564778960060249912007-11-05T19:07:48.497-05:002007-11-05T19:07:48.497-05:00Thank you, Bob, for your accurate depiction of Hudson Valley Foie Gras. <BR/><BR/>I have visited the farm as well and found it to be as you said. Perhaps I had an even better time, as I got to play with the ducklings too. I asked if I could bring one home to live in my bathtub... Apparently not a good idea. <BR/><BR/>Thank you for spreading the word about foie gras production. The animal rights organizations are so heavily funded (mostly by people who are confused about <A HREF="http://legalfoiegras.blogspot.com/2007/10/animal-rights-or-animal-welfare.html" REL="nofollow">the difference between animal welfare and animal rights</A>) that their misinformation campaigns are dangerous. Foie gras is taking so much heat because, with only three small farms in the U.S., it has become the easiest target. <BR/><BR/>Thanks!Lizzie Vonhursthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16151594438246859105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post-47788667298940313362007-11-05T13:54:59.323-05:002007-11-05T13:54:59.323-05:00I just recently fell in love with New Paltz. Been here off and on for 2 years and never got around to going till last weekend when the roommate and I went to Blockheads.<BR/><BR/>Great burritos, crappy service. But what can you expect from a place for college kids, run by college kids.<BR/><BR/>but your right about the view. Its one of the first things that grabbed me. Standing at the main intersection the street disapears from view as it winds and drops down and you get this awsome view of building tops with a backdrop of mountain.<BR/><BR/>I knew the farm was big, but jeezey-peezy does it look massive.<BR/>I really am going to have to get up there before I get out of this place.The Foodisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04214354265691701714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3787762088895101828.post-46770477413881311252007-11-05T13:51:15.834-05:002007-11-05T13:51:15.834-05:00New Paltz? That's where the Hudson Valley Ribfest <BR/><BR/>http://www.hudsonvalleyribfest.org<BR/><BR/>is held. Linda, Jerry & Chris Mullane go up there every year and have some great stories about it. They even have pictures on their website <BR/><BR/>http://www.pigdaddysbarbecue.com<BR/><BR/>BTW, Main Line Prime is now open<BR/><BR/>18 Greenfield Ave<BR/>Ardmore, PA 19003<BR/><BR/>610-645-9500<BR/><BR/>Duroc pork, Kobe beef from Japan, prime beef, seafood, organic & free-range chickens.Tagsnoreply@blogger.com