Revenge of the goose
Ten years on from the BSE crisis there's a new scare story down on the farm - mad goose disease.Results from the University of Tennessee suggest the livers of geese used in the production of foie gras may transmit the little known disease amyloidosis which affects the functioning of the heart, kidneys and nervous system of those afflicted, through an accumulation of abnormal proteins.
The findings threaten to lead to a ban on foie gras sales worldwide. So get ready for French ports to be blockaded by irate goose farmers since France currently supports 79% of the world market; Hungary the next largest producer with 8%.
What this story does is yet again highlight how modern methods of animal husbandry can have severe knock on effects to human health.
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The pro-pate lobby point out that fattening birds via over-feeding dates back to the ancient Egyptians, however, it's hard to defend a practice that now involves force-feeding a bird with a pneumatic pump.
It has already been suggested that the geese are having the last laugh and exacting revenge from beyond the grave.
Given the controversy that surrounds the production of this delicacy, it's probably also worth mentioning that the Tennessee results relating to amyloidosis were only discovered by testing on mice that had been genetically engineered to be susceptible to the disease.
So what are we to do? Cucumber sandwiches all round.
Images courtesy of Carlos Sillero/W.
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If you enjoyed taking a gander at that, why not give these a look:
- Straight - Can you catch a yawn?
- Spoof - Bears to be retrained
- News - Chocoholics take heart
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