To Foie or NOT to Gras?

I have mentioned a number of times with bemusement on my food radio show ‘The Main Ingredient’ the raging foie gras war in the USA where the food police have stirred up such a fuss that some cities such as Chicago have banned it from all restaurant tables. I’ve even had genius chef ‘Will Goldfarb’ admit that he now serves foie gras with absolutely everything just because they say he can’t. Now I like foie gras, but at the same time I CAN imagine life without it. The idea of the process known as la gavage, force-feeding birds with grain by using a metal tube to enlarge their livers, does leave a bit of a foul (fowel?) taste in my mouth. Meanwhile over in the UK Britain’s gourmands are insisting on an "ethical" form of foie gras that is actually created here in Spain by naturally allowing the birds to overeat as they prepare for the winter avoiding the dreaded force feeding. Apparently the geese normally eat much more just before their winter migration. So foie gras lovers can now relax in the knowledge that although the goose is still killed BEFORE its perfectly natural migration to Africa, its last meals are a naturally pleasurable belly filling experience. In fact I know of one cheeky chef residing and working in Africa that thinks they should just let the geese get on with their natural migration, then he could have ethical foie gras, free of any import duties.