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Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society, Inc.
47 South Street, Rhinebeck, New York 12572 USA -
845-876-2626
Vegetarian - Vegan - Animal Rights - Health - Nutrition - Environment
The mission of the Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society, Inc. is to promote the vegetarian ethic in the Mid-Hudson (New York) region, educate the community and aid anyone in the pursuit of a totally vegetarian (vegan) cruelty-free and healthful lifestyle.
Articles - Letters - and More
Not All Ducks
On Monday, May 2, you featured an article about the mother duck who hatched 11 ducklings near the main entrance to the Treasury building in Washington DC.
The mother achieved celebrity status as she sat on her eggs for four weeks.
She became a tourist destination. The secret service protected her. After the ducklings were deemed alive and well an elaborate operation, led by government biologists, transported the new family to a park with a lake.
Contrast this to a commercial operation in the Hudson Valley in Ferndale NY called Hudson Valley Foie Gras. Here, hidden away from tourists or visitors of any kind, ducks are raised to produce the so called delicacy, foie gras. This is achieved by shoving a rough metal pipe down their throats three times a day to force feed a large amount of fatty gruel. This causes their livers to swell to 6-10 times normal size. They soon become too weak to walk. They show very clear fear of their handlers. They are kept in filthy conditions. They have no pond in which to swim and never see the sun. Some die before slaughter.
Autopsies reveal ruptured esophagi and livers, and a host of internal and external infections. Their diseased livers (hepatic lipidosis) are processed into foie gras which is considered a gourmet food item.
Many of the same people who were delighted the Treasury ducks will consume this product, which is actually a diseased organ. Hudson Valley foie gras sells to food stores and restaurants all across the country.
Please think before purchasing this product; and if you see it on a menu or in a specialty food store, please consider telling the management that you object to their selling a food item produced with deliberate cruelty to an animal that has no way to speak for itself. For every duck you may see in a natural environment, hundreds are hidden away and live the short, tortured lives described above. Even if you do not and would not consume this product; you can help by speaking out. You can learn more at www.mhvs.org/nofoiegras or www.gourmetcruelty.com .
Roberta Schiff
President, Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society
We look forward to
hearing from you
