法國肥鵝肝的原罪？

The Dordogne region in southwestern France is known for a very special delicacy： foie gras. The Lasserre family in the town of Marquay has been producing it with geese for decades. They allow their geese free range for three months； then the birds are penned and force-fed corn for the last three weeks of their lives.

Kléber Lasserre： （via translator） The corn kernels are soaked in water and fat is added. That way they slide down the birds’throats better.

These geese are being prepared to meet demand for Christmas. They get corn forced down their throats three times a day. Ginette Lasserre： （via translator）You have to be careful so you don’t injure the animals. If a goose tenses up from fear， we massage its neck until it relaxes， and we can slip the pipe down its throat. Our goal is for the birds to put on weight quickly. At the start of the fattening period， they weigh around six kilos. Three weeks later， they’re nine kilos， and their livers weigh 800 to 900 grams.

And it’s that liver， enlarged five times its normal weight， that’s the point of this all. It’s considered a highlight of French cuisine. The majority of foie gras comes not from small farms， but from large agricultural businesses.

Animal welfare activists consider foie gras production to be pure cruelty. Force-feeding to produce foie gras is prohibited in 17 countries. And because foie gras is produced in such large quantities in France， French farmers are fighting against damage to their image.

At this experimental farm run by the Chamber of Agriculture， 1）resourceful researchers are trying to prove that animals don’t really suffer from the force-feeding. They say the geese simply have to be prepared for it while they’re still free range.

Jean-Pierre DuBois （Coulaures Agricultural Research Center）： （via translator）We feed them only once a day. Within ten days， they eat 300-400 grams of corn in just a few minutes. That helps to stretch their 2）crop. Look at the geese coming out now. Their crops are really round like a ball. There’s water and corn in there.

Visitor： （via translator）Doesn’t that hurt them？

Jean-Pierre： （via translator）No， they do that themselves with no problem. It’s a kind of training for the geese.

Foie gras production is an important economic factor in France， one that employs some 35，000 people. That’s one reason why Paris has so far ignored the protests from other European countries. Another is that the vast majority of foie gras is consumed in France itself.

Foie gras as a cultural icon—if 3）Brussels banned force-feeding， says Herve Chassain， a reporter for a local newspaper， that would be a declaration of war on France.

Herve： （via translator）People here would turn away Europe even more. They’ve already voted massively against the EU treaties， and that would really put them in opposition.

The ninety-five-year-old grandmother Madame Lassere says the expensive delicacy foie gras used to be eaten almost daily.

Alice Lesserre： （via translator）We’ve always done the force-feeding， at least as far back as the 17th century. So what’s the problem？ It’s better if the geese are fatter. There’s more meat then， too.

The French are happy to see themselves as the leaders of the resistance against a ban on foie gras from force-feeding. Bulgaria and Hungary， which also produce small amounts of force-fed foie gras， are certainly grateful for that. And officials in Brussels will surely think twice about a ban， not wanting to cause a feud with an entire nation.

法國西南部的多爾多涅地區以一道非常特別的美味聞名：肥鵝肝。在馬爾蓋鎮的拉塞爾家養鵝產肥鵝肝已經有幾十年的歷史了。他們先將鵝群自由放養三個月，然后把它們圈起來，并且在它們生命中的最后三個星期里強行喂食玉米。

克雷伯·拉塞爾：（通過翻譯）玉米粒浸泡在水里，此外還要加些脂肪。這樣的話飼料就會更容易進入鵝的食道里。這些鵝是為圣誕節準備的，它們一天被強行喂食玉米三次。

吉納特·拉塞爾：（通過翻譯）在操作的時候你要小心不要傷到鵝。如果鵝因為恐懼而繃緊了肌肉，我們會按摩它的脖子，直至它放松，而后我們才能把喂食管插入鵝的食道。我們的目的就是要讓鵝盡快增重。在增肥期的初始，鵝的體重大概是六公斤；三周后，鵝重九公斤，而鵝肝就有八百到九百克重。

這個重量五倍于正常鵝肝的肥肝正是他們所追求的。肥鵝肝是法國美食的一個亮點。法國大部分的肥鵝肝并不產自小農場，而是源自大型農業企業。

動物福利活躍人士認為肥鵝肝的生產方式純粹是一種虐待。世界上有17個國家禁止通過強飼法來獲取肥鵝肝的做法。由于法國如此大量地生產肥鵝肝，法國農民正與損害他們形象的做法抗爭。

在法國農商會運營的這個實驗農場里，頭腦靈活的研究人員正試圖證明鵝并沒有因為強行喂養而受到傷害。他們稱，只不過在鵝群自由放養的階段就必須讓它們做好準備。

讓-皮埃爾·杜波依斯（庫洛雷農業研究中心）：（通過翻譯）我們一天只喂食一次。……