法国肥鹅肝的原罪？

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 birdsthroats 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 dont 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， theyre nine kilos， and their livers weigh 800 to 900 grams.

And its that liver， enlarged five times its normal weight， thats the point of this all. Its 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， resourceful researchers are trying to prove that animals dont really suffer from the force-feeding. They say the geese simply have to be prepared for it while theyre 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 crop. Look at the geese coming out now. Their crops are really round like a ball. Theres water and corn in there.

Visitor： （via translator）Doesnt that hurt them？

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

Foie gras production is an important economic factor in France， one that employs some 35，000 people. Thats 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 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. Theyve 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）Weve always done the force-feeding， at least as far back as the 17th century. So whats the problem？ Its better if the geese are fatter. Theres 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.

法国西南部的多尔多涅地区以一道非常特别的美味闻名：肥鹅肝。在马尔盖镇的拉塞尔家养鹅产肥鹅肝已经有几十年的历史了。他们先将鹅群自由放养三个月，然后把它们圈起来，并且在它们生命中的最后三个星期里强行喂食玉米。

克雷伯·拉塞尔：（通过翻译）玉米粒浸泡在水里，此外还要加些脂肪。这样的话饲料就会更容易进入鹅的食道里。这些鹅是为圣诞节准备的，它们一天被强行喂食玉米三次。

吉纳特·拉塞尔：（通过翻译）在操作的时候你要小心不要伤到鹅。如果鹅因为恐惧而绷紧了肌肉，我们会按摩它的脖子，直至它放松，而后我们才能把喂食管插入鹅的食道。我们的目的就是要让鹅尽快增重。在增肥期的初始，鹅的体重大概是六公斤;三周后，鹅重九公斤，而鹅肝就有八百到九百克重。

这个重量五倍于正常鹅肝的肥肝正是他们所追求的。肥鹅肝是法国美食的一个亮点。法国大部分的肥鹅肝并不产自小农场，而是源自大型农业企业。

动物福利活跃人士认为肥鹅肝的生产方式纯粹是一种虐待。世界上有17个国家禁止通过强饲法来获取肥鹅肝的做法。由于法国如此大量地生产肥鹅肝，法国农民正与损害他们形象的做法抗争。

在法国农商会运营的这个实验农场里，头脑灵活的研究人员正试图证明鹅并没有因为强行喂养而受到伤害。他们称，只不过在鹅群自由放养的阶段就必须让它们做好准备。

让-皮埃尔·杜波依斯（库洛雷农业研究中心）：（通过翻译）我们一天只喂食一次。在十天内，鹅在仅仅几分钟内就能吃下三百到四百克的玉米，这有助于撑大它们的嗉囊。看看这些出来的鹅，它们的嗉囊就像球一样圆。那里面是水和玉米。

来访者：（通过翻译）这样做不会伤害到它们吗？

让-皮埃尔：（通过翻译）不会，它们会自己这么吃，这都不成问题。这是对鹅的一种训练。

肥鹅肝生产是法国一个重要的经济组成部分，它提供大约三万五千个工作岗位。这也是法国政府迄今一直对其他欧洲国家的抗议不予理睬的一个原因。而另一个原因是大部分的肥鹅肝都会在法国本土内销。

赫维·查斯恩是当地一家报社的记者。他表示，肥鹅肝是法国的一个文化象征，如果欧盟禁止强饲法，那就等于向法国宣战。

赫维：（通过翻译）这里的人会更为排斥欧盟。他们本来就已经投票，在大规模地反对欧盟条约了，如果强饲法遭禁，就会导致这里的人与欧盟进一步对立。

95岁高龄的老奶奶拉塞尔夫人说肥鹅肝这种昂贵的美味以前是几乎每天都吃的。

艾丽斯·拉塞尔：（通过翻译）至少早自17世纪以来，我们就一直采用强行喂食的方法。这究竟有什么问题？如果鹅肥点会更好，而且鹅肉也会多点。

在反对禁止强饲法的抵制运动中，法国人很乐意充当领头羊，生产少量肥鹅肝的保加利亚和匈牙利对此也自然心存感激。而欧盟官员并不希望与一个国家的国民引起争端，他们在考虑禁止强饲法的时候肯定会三思而行。

·小链接·

动物福利

动物福利一般指动物（尤其是受人类控制的）不应受到不必要的痛苦，即使是供人用作食物、工作工具、友伴或研究需要。要让动物适应其所处的环境，满足其基本的自然需求。如果能够保证动物健康、感觉舒适、营养充足、安全、能够自由表达天性并且不受痛苦、恐惧和压力威胁，那么動物福利的要求便得到了满足。而高水平动物福利则更需要疾病免疫和兽医治疗，适宜的居所、管理、营养、人道对待和人道屠宰。