Article: Muffy and girl set for tearful reunion

This article was taken from: The Star Newspaper: World W47, 1 August 2009

Article: Indoor or outdoor cats?

This article was taken from: The Star Newspaper: Weekender WE29, 1 August 2009

Article: If I Could Walk The Seabed

This article was taken from: The Star Newspaper: Metro: North M4, 1 August 2009

Article: Cat Burglar

This article was taken from: The Star Newspaper: Weekender WE28, 1 August 2009

Image: Forest Fire

This image was taken from: The Star Newspaper: World: Star Foto Folder W38, 31 July 2009

Image: Whopper

This image was taken from: The Star Newspaper: Nation: Star Foto Folder N14, 31 July 2009

Image: Long Catch

This image was taken from: The Star Newspaper: Star Foto Folder: Nation N30, 30 July 2009

Article: New home for two Bengal tigers

Thursday July 30, 2009

By TAN SIN CHOW

THE two Bengal tigers which were once kept at Bukit Jambul Hibiscus, Orchids and Reptile Farm have been relocated to private land in Teluk Bahang.

Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said there was thus no truth to the talk that the tigers had escaped from the steel cage in Bukit Jambul.

Phee said the owner was asked to relocate his tigers after the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) wanted to take back the land where the tigers were kept.

"The owners obtained all the necessary approval from the state Wildlife Department before moving the tigers to private land on Tuesday.

"The application was made on Monday and the approval was immediately granted," said Phee after a site inspection of the new steel cage used to keep the tigers in Teluk Bahang.

Phee said he was shocked after being informed by nearby residents that the tigers had gone missing from their old Bukit Jambul home at about 1.30pm yesterday.

He said Wildlife Department officers should have alerted him over the relocation before giving the approval.

"The first thing that came to my mind was public safety. I was relieved when told that the tigers had actually been relocated and had not escaped as alleged," he said.

Relocated: The two Bengal tigers inside the steel cage at a new site in Teluk Bahang.

The farm, which started operations in 1989, was closed down in June 2007 after Penang Development Corporation (PDC) took back the land.

He said that following the closure, the farm operators were asked to set up a similar tourism product at the 2ha Teluk Bahang Forest Reserve where the tigers now are.

The project, to be called Flora and Fauna Village, is a joint venture between them and the state Forestry Department.

The operators were supposed to move into the forest reserve sometime in May last year but due to several unforeseen circumstances, the project was delayed.

Phee said the project could see further delay as he had since ordered the reconstruction of the tigers' enclosure at the forest reserve.

"I inspected the enclosure two months ago and found that it did not meet the specifications and requirements.

"I have since ordered the architect to rebuild and send me a report pertaining to the new structure," he said,

The project at the forest reserve will house a wide variety of hibiscuses, orchids and tropical flowers. Besides the two tigers, an arapaima, albino cobra, two giant tortoises, snakes, lizards and spiders will be put on display.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: North 30 July 2009

Article: Dog’s eye view of ride

Thursday July 30, 2009

By MANJIT KAUR

WHILE over 200 participants took part in the monthly Penang Heritage Experience on Wheels in George Town, a little pomeranian was tucked comfortably in its owner's 'basikal tua' basket, observing the buzz of activities around it.

Candy Chhung, 28, a designer, said this was her second time participating in the event with her four-year-old pet dog named 'Xiao Hei' which means 'little black' in Chinese.

"He loves outings. I made a little cap, a T-shirt and comfortable bedding for him in the basket,'' she said.

Enjoying his outing: Xiao Hei sitting pretty in his basket, attended to by his owner Chhung.

The black pomeranian seemed to be enjoying the experience, looking left and right at those gathered at the Esplanade for the event.

The event held every last Sunday of the month was flagged off by state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow, after which he also took part in the event, riding a classic bicycle.

Also taking part in the event were State Youth, Sports, Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Lydia Ong Kok Fooi and Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu,

Penang Classic Bicycle Owners Club vice-president Cheng Kim Heng said about 20 club members took part in the event.

The 63-year-old man from Air Itam in Penang said the antique bicycles riden by the club members dated back to between 1906 and 1942.

Club member Seow Heng Dong, 60, said he modified his vintage bicycle's frame so that his bicycle could look more attractive.

The ride, which started at 8.30am, ended at the New World Park at about 11am.

His pride and joy: Ikhwan showing his 'New Hudson Sport' bicycle.

The participants stopped at five heritage sites — Fort Cornwallis, Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Cheah Kongsi, Kapitan Keling Mosque and St George's Church.

The event ended at the New World Park where a Vintage Bicycle Show and Competition were being organised.

The cycling event was organised by the State Sports Council and coorganised by Penang Cycling Lifestyle Society and the Knights of the Round Table Club.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: North 30 July 2009

Article: It’s so cute ....

Date : Thursday, 30-July-2009 

by Jason Phuah Oon Leong

I saw this monkey playing on the utility pole, oblivious to danger.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Thumbnails 30 July 2009

Image: ... it’s electro-cuted

Date : Thursday, 30-July-2009

by Renee Chung

This poor raccoon-like animal found out one of the amazing things electricity can do.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Thumbnails 30 July 2009

Article: ‘Review EIA on shrimp farm’

Thursday July 30, 2009

By CHEW WAN YING

PETALING JAYA: The Department of Environment should review the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report on the proposed 1,000ha shrimp farm project in Terengganu, said Global Environment Centre director Faisal Parish.

The report on the project, known as the Integrated Shrimp Aquaculture Park (iSHARP) located in Penarik, near Setiu, was published on the department's website on July 28.

"It failed to mention a major environmental impact caused by the pumping of sea water into the river, said Faisal.

Sea water would have to be pumped into the breeding ponds, and discharging the sea water into the Setiu river would affect the river's salinity and ecological system, said Faisal.

"This issue should be highlighted in the report. Thailand is facing the same problem in tiger prawn farming. A new method was tried by pumping sea water into rice-field areas. It proved to be a failure when all rice crops died," he said.

He found it surprising that the report claimed that the project would have no significant impact to the environment.

"Here, we are talking about a 1,000ha project. The site is rich with 18 types of endangered species. It is a very high number and very unusual. It is also a breeding ground for terrapins and freshwater crocodiles, the latter especially rare in Malaysia.

"You should not carry out the project even if there is only one endangered species," he said, adding that he was also concerned about the scale of the project and its technical feasibility.

"This is a very large-scale project. Many aquaculture schemes have failed in the past. What is the basis for going on an even larger scale like this one? A cautious approach should be taken," he said.

A detailed EIA should take at least six months to prepare, he added.

"However, in the same website, the preliminary EIA report for the same project was dated April.

"Within such a short period, it is unlikely for them to have done any in-depth environmental study."

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Nation 30 July 2009

Image: Greenpeace in China

This image was taken from: The Star Newspaper: World: Star Foto Folder W31, 29 July 2009

Image: Climate change

This image was taken from: The Star Newspaper: World: Star Foto Folder W31, 29 July 2009

Image: Floods

This image was taken from: The Star Newspaper: World: Star Foto Folder W31, 29 July 2009

Image: Seven Year Fruit

This image was taken from: The Star Newspaper: Nation N17, 28 July 2009

Article: Wild giant panda in worse shape after quake in sichuan

This article was taken from: The Star Newspaper: World W35, 28 July 2009

Article: Wildlife CSI

This article was taken from: The Star Newspaper: Startwo: T1, T2, T3, 28 July 2009

Image: Non-secretive squirrel

Date : Tuesday, 28-July-2009

by Kayatri Vasu

Looks like this creature has adapted to a new method of foraging.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Thumbnails 28 July 2009

Article: Meatless in Paris

Tuesday July 28, 2009

By JENNY BARCHFIELD

Fine dining for vegetarians at Michelin three-star restaurant.

CÔTE du boeuf, foie gras, escargot. French cuisine is hardly the stuff of vegetarians' dreams.

In Paris restaurants, vegetarians often are met with looks of pity, headshaking incomprehension, even snorts of disgust. Eating out for vegetarians can mean endless salades au chevre chaud, the warm goat cheese salads that are the only reliable meat-free menu item.

Veg out: French chef Alain Passard makes vegetables the centrepiece of his cuisine at his Michelin-starred restaurant L'Arpège.

But veggie visitors need not despair. Tasty meatless dining is possible in Paris, where choices include L'Arpège – a Michelin-starred establishment renowned for garden-fresh vegetable dishes.

At L'Arpège, vegetables are the centrepiece – literally. All the tables in this chic restaurant are adorned not with a tasteful floral arrangement but with ripe vegetables, like artfully sculpted crookneck squash or bouquets of asparagus stalks.

One of just 26 restaurants in France with a top, three-star rating by the Michelin Guide – the country's culinary bible – L'Arpège is the only one dedicated to vegetables.

Its most celebrated dishes include tomate confite aux douze saveurs (a stuffed, preserved tomato), and l'oeuf fermier de la Bigottiere en chaud et froid (a concoction of egg yolk, whipped cream and maple syrup served in the eggshell as an appetiser).

Long a bastion of slow-grilled meats, L'Arpège sent shockwaves through France's gourmet circles by announcing it was going – more or less – veggie in 2001. The restaurant still serves some meat, such as free-range chicken and mutton as well as seafood, but vegetables are the uncontested stars.

L'Arpège's celebrated chef, Alain Passard, said his decision was not motivated by ethical or health concerns, but rather by a quest for a new challenge.

"One day, I woke up and asked myself, 'What have I done with a leek, with a carrot? Nothing, or maybe just 10% of what can be done with a carrot,'" said Passard.

All the vegetables served at the restaurant – some 40 tons annually – come from its three organic gardens in the Sarthe, Eure and Manche regions of northern France.

And the menus reflect what's in season: mostly tubers and leafy greens in the winter and a strange and copious variety, including blue kohlrabi, globe turnips and purple asparagus in the summer months.

But don't expect veggie fare to be easier on the wallet. Even if L'Arpège serves up more spinach than lobster, its prices remain in line with those of other three-star restaurants. At lunch, its eight-course tasting menu runs US$170 (RM600). At dinner, the 10-course menu costs US$450 (RM1,600), not including wine.

"We want to create a grand cru from vegetables," said Passard. "I talk about carrots the way others talk about Chardonnay or Sauvignon." – AP

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Lifestyle: Living 28 July 2009

Article: Incentive plans for going green

Tuesday July 28, 2009

MIRI: The Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry is working with the Finance Ministry on the proposal to give tax and tariff incentives to companies and households for "green initiatives" to help reduce environmental pollution.

Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said he would also consult Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is the Finance Minister 1, on the details soon.

"These incentives are meant to encourage more people to 'go green'. Being green does not just mean recycling materials for reuse. Being green also means reducing electricity usage by adopting more energy-saving devices and methods of operation.

"There are so many socio-economic sectors which can adopt green ways and we (the ministry) feel that if we can offer attractive incentives, more people will go green," he said in an interview.

Chin, who is Miri MP, said that among the incentives being proposed are double-taxation deductions and lower electricity tariffs.

He said companies, factories or households which implement measures to reduce air-conditioning usage, reduce consumption of fuel and reduce pollution emission would be evaluated and given the appropriate incentives for their efforts.

"For example, if public transportation companies changed their petrol or diesel engines to natural gas, this will reduce pollution.

"These companies will be rewarded with double-taxation deductions.

"If factories manage to reduce their electricity usage by using energy-saving devices, they will also get these tax incentives and even reduced electricity tariffs," he added.

Chin said even the small-scale industries, such as the food processing ones, could go greener and be rewarded.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Nation 28 July 2009

Article: Telur Rangers hit the road to save turtles

Tuesday July 28, 2009

By YEE CHERN YUNN and NG MIN XI

PETALING JAYA: All it took was a website, and turtles now have three young women fighting to keep them alive.

Chong Heuy Meim, 29, Nelleisa Omar, 26, and Grace Duraisingham, 26, will be travelling throughout Peninsular Malaysia to collect 100,000 signatures from Malaysians in support of WWF-Malaysia's "Egg=Life" campaign.

Their mode of transport – a decked-out Volkswagen Beetle, sponsored by AMC Motors.

Road trip: (From left) Chong, Grace and Nelleisa are on a mission to save the turtles from extinction.

Calling themselves Telur Rangers, the group will stop at various states to educate the public on turtle conservation and to obtain signatures for the WWF petition calling for a ban on the sale and consumption of turtle eggs.

"I was sent a website on the plight of the turtles and decided to do something about it. After talking to my colleague (Huey Meim), we came up with this idea. We approached WWF-Malaysia with it and they loved it," said Nelleisa.

News of the road trip reached Grace, a field biologist for WWF who is passionate about turtles. She immediately jumped at the chance to be part of the project.

"If we can get people to change their mindset and stop eating turtle eggs, it's a huge step," said Grace.

According to WWF-Malaysia, there were 10,000 leatherback nests in Rantau Abang each year during the 1950s but there are now less than 10.

The trip began at Carrefour, Tropicana City Mall here, yesterday and will end on Aug 8.

To find out the Telur Rangers' schedule and follow them on their journey, visit their daily-updated blog at www.telurrangers.blogspot.com

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Nation 28 July 2009

Article: Erosion watch at Bukit Larut

Tuesday July 28, 2009

By CHRISTINA KOH

The Perak Government will direct the developer of the Tea Garden Restaurant project on Bukit Larut in Taiping to take precautionary measures to prevent severe erosion.

State Health, Local Government, Consumer Affairs, Environment, Public Transportation and Non-Islamic Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said the developer was now clearing the land for the project's septic tank system.

He told reporters after a recent inspection of the project site 636m above sea level that the state would ensure that the developer planted grass cover once the clearing was done.

He said the Department of Environment would monitor the situation.

Dr Mah said this following complaints that Bukit Larut, a popular tourist destination and sensitive water catchment area, was appa-rently being threatened by erosion and indiscriminate dumping of rubbish.

The RM4mil Tea Garden project, a coffee house built under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to cater to visitors and trekkers, is expected to be completed in July next year.

Dr Mah said a check on a nearby hostel project, costing RM3.7mil under the state government, showed no signs of erosion as alleged.

"The foundation looks solid and an additional RM900,000 was spent on slope protection.

"This shows that we are very serious on this issue," he added.

He said natural erosion was bound to happen on any mountain or hill.

"What's more important are the measures we took to deal with it," he added.

On Fomca president Datuk N. Marimuthu's statement on the hill's environmental damage that was carried in the media, Dr Mah said the state government welcomed the views and help of the consumer association group.

He stressed that the state was not trying to hide anything, adding that he and various state department heads had themselves come forward to investigate the reports.

He disputed Marimuthu's complaints of illegal logging at Bukit Larut, saying that he found no signs of logging activities and that it was not possible to bring timber down the hill's narrow road.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: North 28 July 2009

Image: Snake Charmers

This image was taken from: The Star Newspaper: World: Star Foto Folder W27, 27 July 2009

Article: Go for integrated farming

Monday July 27, 2009

By IVAN LOH

STATE and area farmers organisations in Perak have been asked to emulate the success of two oil palm estates in Kampung Gajah in rearing cattle on estate land.

Perak Malaysian Agricul- tural Research and Develop- ment Institute (Mardi) senior assistant research officer Mohd Yunus Ahmad (pic) said the two estates were La- dang Jaya Baru and Ladang Rakyat.

Mohd Yunus said many plantation owners were reluctant to have cattle roaming in the estates, fearing that the animals would destroy the land and eat the palm fruits.

"We have the data to prove that the cattle will not destroy the terrain and crops," said Mohd Yunus during a visit to Ladang Jaya Baru and Ladang Rakyat on Wednesday.

He said having the cattle grazing and roaming in the estates had proved to be helpful to the palm oil estate management.

"The cost for weeding has been cut to half since the Brakmas cattle were brought into the palm oil estates in 2003.

"Before they were brought in, the cost for weeding was about RM152 per ha annually.

"In 2006, the cost dropped to RM54 per ha," he said, adding that the use of chemicals that were harmful to the environment and foreign plantation workers had also been reduced.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: North 27 July 2009

Image: Sharp dog

Date : Monday, 27-July-2009

by Chong Quek Choon

Good dog. Now here's a shopping list for the supermarket.

This image was taken from: The Star Online: Thumbnails 27 July 2009

Article: Culinary cruelty

Monday July 27, 2009

Many gastronomic delicacies are produced in unethical ways and at great suffering to the animal.

Shark fin

ONE of the most horrific practices is the harvesting of shark fin, which is a process called finning.

After the sharks are captured, their fins are cut off and the live animal is tossed back into the sea. Unable to swim properly, the shark suffocates or is killed by predators.

This practice is also decimating the shark population. Fishermen want the valuable fin but don't want the rest of the shark, as its flesh fetches low prices at fish markets.

The good news is that wildlife conservationists are seeing a drop in the consumption of shark fin among young Asians who have become aware of finning and the environmental impact of this dish.

Frog legs

ANOTHER delicacy that involves the butchering of a live animal is frog legs.

Sometimes the frog is skinned before its legs are chopped off. Witnesses say that they can actually hear the frogs shrieking as they are butchered, and many of the amphibians are still alive long after their legs have been removed.

Wagyu beef

THIS meat is highly prized for its intense fat marbling and taste that enthusiasts say is not dissimilar to foie gras.

There are stories of wagyu cattle being massaged and fed beer as part of the fattening process, which while true, may have more sinister reasons than to just season the meat.

Australian cattle rancher David Blackmore, one of the few Westerners to have visited Japanese farms several times, told Gourmet magazine in a 2007 article: "They (the cattle) get bored and go off their feed. Their gut stops working. The best way to start their gut working again is to give them a bottle of beer.

"The steers have been lying in their own manure. ... Wagyu can also get a lot of joint swelling. I can imagine that the farmers would be massaging joints so they could get the animals off to market."

Blackmore was confirming what international acclaimed chef Raymond Blanc discovered when he visited such a farm in 1993.

"The animals were kept in some kind of crate, so there could be very little movement. They were very dirty from their own manure. It was disgusting," Blanc was quoted in the same article.

Large eggs

EVEN choosing large eggs is considered cruel. The British Free Range Producers Association told the British press early this year that it was painful for hens to lay larger eggs. The association recommended that consumers buy medium eggs instead, adding that they also taste better and are less "watery" than larger ones.

While no scientific studies have been conducted, the association has received support from academics involved in animal welfare who point out that large eggs often have blood spots on them.

Speaking of eggs, spare a thought for the egg-laying chicken in intensive farming. It spends its whole adult life with four other hens in a battery cage whose floor is the size of this open newspaper.

Eating babies

BOTH veal and suckling pig are meats from baby animals.

A suckling pig is an animal that has just been weaned from its mother and is usually around six weeks old or 12kg in weight, while calves used in the production of veal are taken away from their mothers immediately after birth.

In battery farming, the calves are confined to crates, usually measuring 60cm wide, in which they cannot turn around, stretch their limbs or even lie down comfortably.

They are fed with watery powdered milk to deliberately induce borderline anaemia and thus, tender white meat. – Compiled by Jane F. Ragavan

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Lifestyle: Focus 27 July 2009

Article: One man’s meat

Monday July 27, 2009

By JANE F. RAGAVAN

The practice of force-feeding an animal for the sole pleasure of the palate has come under criticism from animal welfare groups.

IN any killing of animals for food, there is a certain degree of cruelty, a fact that has led many people to stop eating meat.

There's also the environmental concern in animal agriculture, which is the main source of methane worldwide, a significant contributor to global warming.

This, however, is not a polemic for vegetarianism, despite the proven benefits to our bodies and the planet (the food must be organic, though), or a question of morality. The fact of the matter is that one can be an animal lover and still eat meat.

Feeding time: An employee at the Ferme Basque in St-Urbain, Quebec, Canada, feeding a Mulard duck for the production of foie gras. Mulard ducks – a cross-breed between a male Muscovy duck and a common female duck – are the preferred species for the delicacy.

Standard animal agriculture practices leave much to be desired and many informed meat-eaters draw the line at what they consider unfair treatment of an animal before it ends up on their tables.

The matter is especially contentious when it comes to gourmet food. Certainly, there appears to be no bigger controversy than the production of foie gras (pronoun­ced "fwah grah") – duck or goose liver that is fattened by force-feeding.

This is done by feeding the birds through a tube shoved down their throats. Anti-foie gras campaigners say this is painful, cruel and something the industry wants to hide. This has also led many animal rights groups to go undercover to film the process. These videos can be viewed on their websites, along with images of unkempt and dead birds.

As a counter to such horrifying footage, you have people like celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain taking a camera crew to a farm to show "happy ducks" scurrying to be fed from the tube.

So what is the truth?

Frenchman Jean Michel Fraisse says the feeding process is real, but is incensed at what he describes as manipulation and "a campaign by puritans".

A piece of foie gras from a Mulard duck.

"There is nothing to hide. Sure there are dead ducks, as in any farm, but these are images of one or two birds and they (the activists) make it appear as if that is what happens to all the birds," says the managing director of HTC in Asia Sdn Bhd, which runs the Kuala Lumpur-based French Culinary School in Asia.

"There is no cruelty (in producing foie gras)," he emphasises. "Just think, if you put stress on an animal it will affect the taste of the meat, and no one wants that."

Foie gras production has been banned in at least 15 countries, including Britain, Switzerland, Germany (which, in 2002, became the first country to grant animals a constitutional right) and Israel, which was formerly the world's largest producer of foie gras.

This fact, says a local food blogger who wishes to go by the initials WMW, clearly sends the message that there are concerns over foie gras production.

"It must be causing enough of an impact for these governments to do something about it," says WMW who has tried foie gras but having learned of how it is produced, swore never to eat it again.

Feeding off the fat

Foie gras, designated by law as part of French cultural and gastronomic heritage, is made by force-feeding corn-based meal to farmed ducks and geese over a few months so that their livers swell with fat.

Historically, foie gras was produced from geese, but today 96% of the delicacy comes from ducks.

The final weight of each lobe of raw foie gras is between 600g and 1kg. The price fluctuates according to quality and how it is prepared. At Rougie, a famous French supplier of gourmet specialities, the products can start from as low as ‚7 (RM35) for a 50g block of duck foie gras. Local restaurants usually don't price their foie gras main courses for less than RM50 a plate.

Fine food: Torchon de Foie Gras et Homard Canadien, or lobster wrapped in duck liver – created by celebrity chef Emmanuel Stroobant, the Chef in Black

France is the world's leading producer of foie gras, turning out some 18,450 tonnes a year, or almost 80% of the world total of around 23,500 tonnes. Most of the French production is consumed by the domestic market, much of it during the festive season.

Hungary and Bulgaria are also major producers, Canada has a thriving industry, and China has become a sizeable producer in recent years.

The objection to foie gras centres on force feeding, or gavage, which is necessary for the production of the fatty liver.

This is done after the duck reaches around 12 weeks old (before this, it lives a relatively free-range life) and is carried out for the final two to three weeks of its life by inserting a tube – "like a petrol pump", says Fraisse – carrying cornmeal down its throat. Each duck is fed about 450g of food two to three times a day and each feeding lasts under 10 seconds.

Gavage takes advantage of birds' natural tendency to gorge before migration and was practised in classical Rome and ancient Egypt. Gorging, however, only results in the liver doubling in size, not 10 times as in force feeding.

The concentration of fat – 50% to 60% at the end of the process – gives the liver its distinctive taste. This, to those who take pleasure in eating foie gras, is a case of the end justifying the means.

Coming from the south of France, Fraisse, 45, was "born with touching foie gras", which he considers the flagship of French gastronomy.

"The ducks enjoy the force feeding, and become addicted to it," he claims.

"If you don't see it, you will think it is cruel, but it is no different than other types of farming," says Fraisse, who has led several groups of Malaysians, including students and journalists, on tours of foie gras production facilities in France.

"In fact, if you want to see cruelty to animals, just go to any chicken farm in Malaysia, any type of farming in Australia that raises grain-fed beef.

(The Department of Veterinary Services guidelines on rearing commercial broiler chickens in Malaysia recommend suitable-sized barns having an area of 1sqft per bird. That's only slightly larger than a sheet of A4-size paper.)

"I would rather be a duck in France than a chicken in Malaysia," says Fraisse.

To this, WMW says: "But we don't have the luxury of choice here," referring to intensive chicken farming. "If we choose to eat chicken, we have to take whatever we can get."

Sitting duck

To be fair, there are first-hand accounts from unbiased journalists about foie gras duck farms in the United States, like the one Bourdain visited in New York State, which describe birds grouped in pens large enough to comfortably move about in during the force-feeding period.

Barns are air-conditioned and equipped with electronic devices for temperature, humidity and oxygen control. With each worker caring for 300 to 350 birds and receiving a bonus for low mortality and good quality livers, the handling of the ducks is done carefully.

There is also plenty of proof of reprehensible acts of cruelty. Particularly disturbing is undercover footage from an industrial farm in Canada and another in the south-west of France. The films show ducks housed in gloomy sheds, brutally manhandled and placed in wire cages so small they cannot move at all for the two weeks or so that they are force-fed.

Some cannot lift their heads or lie dead with cornmeal clotted in their bills. Witnesses say they have seen dirty birds being attacked by rats and suffering from diarrhoea, incessant panting and lesions. Activists refer to the unnaturally engorged liver as "diseased".

Protestors denounce force-feeding as a painful process which often leaves ducks with throat lacerations and ruptured livers, and cause them to vomit the surfeit of cornmeal that is pumped into them. The foie gras lobby, however, insists that the oesophagus of the duck is hard and the birds have no gag reflex.

In Malaysia, foie gras is often in the spotlight but only on restaurant menus. There have been murmurs of local opposition to the product, mostly in the form of letters to the press, from individuals and organisations. Environment watchdog Sahabat Alam Malaysia has called for a ban on the import of food products containing foie gras and for hoteliers and restaurateurs to "enlighten the consumers or food lovers on the needless suffering of birds for a mere palatable dish."

With so many food-related issues to worry about, is foie gras simply an easy target for activists and economic sanctions, and an attack on those who can afford the luxury?

Fraisse seems to think so.

"Why focus on foie gras? What about shark fin and live fish in (restaurant) aquarium, which are harvested using cyanide (this stuns the fish so they are easily caught)? That is more cruel.

"We should be more concerned about the things we eat every day than what we eat once in a while. People should be more worried about molecular gastronomy (because of the chemicals that are used)."

For him, it comes down to choice. "You can choose not to eat foie gras. Make your own opinion, investigate yourself, do not rely on the opinion of one person."

WMW agrees that it is about choice – informed choice.

"Most people are not aware of what happens. But once you are aware ... well, it's up to the individual," she says, adding that she knows people who continue to consume foie gras despite this knowledge, even making light of the production process.

In the end, you may defend the way you live or change it. For the vast majority, however, it would be just as important to rally against what we can hope to change in this country – for example, battery cages and intensive farming – so that animal welfare is protected, the benefits of which we will enjoy.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Lifestyle: Focus 27 July 2009