Food fight

Foie gras - fattened goose or duck liver - is nothing new to Singapore. It is on the menu of several well-known restaurants. In fact, Saint Pierre, one of the most popular restaurants in town, sold more than 1.3 tonnes of it last year and serves an average of 5kg a day of what many consider a delicacy.

Foie gras sushi with truffle oil-cured lobster salad, classic pan-fried foie gras with caramelised green apple and old port sauce, seared foie gras with sake-flamed pineapple are just a few of its specialties.

But sandwiched between comments about the war in Iraq and reactions to the Sars outbreak, a war of words has developed in the local media about its use.

In a country where you can eat delicacies such as shark's fin or buy bear gall bladders from some traditional Chinese medicine shops (even though it is illegal), the argument is an interesting one.

It all started with the World Gourmet Summit, traditionally held during the annual Singapore Food Festival in April. Several international animal welfare organisations protested about the use and promotion of foie gras at a S$220 (HK$970) per head dinner prepared by chef Michael Ginor, the president of America's largest foie gras producer, Hudson Valley Foie Gras.

Groups including the London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals, Compassion in World Farming and Singapore-based Animal Watch sent letters of protest asking the organiser and the Singapore Tourism Board to drop the event. After all, there is no denying that the force-feeding of geese is inhumane.