Morrissey vs. Gordon Ramsay in Foie Gras Fracas

Morrissey has put his money where his mouth is to combat the cruelty of foie gras – by donating £10,000 to PETA for a hard-hitting ad campaign that slams Fortnum & Mason for selling the vile product. In an unexpected turn of events, we actually have Gordon Ramsay to thank for this generous donation – because the money comes from a settlement that Morrissey received from Channel 4 after a Smiths song was used without permission to advertise the chef’s Christmas Cookalong Live. Appalled that his music was being used to promote a man who cooks with foie gras, Morrissey sent his lawyers into action and received the payoff, which will now be used to expose the cruelty behind this “torture in a tin”.

Morrissey explained, with typical forthrightness: “Ramsay may very well stick his head in his microwave when he hears that the money I received from Channel 4 … is being donated to PETA to fight foie gras. Foie gras is so cruelly produced that he’d be against it if he had an ethical bone in his body”.

To create foie gras, pipes are shoved down birds’ throats, and huge amounts of grain and fat are pumped into their stomachs several times a day. Their livers become diseased as they swell to up to 10 times their normal size. It’s illegal to produce the pâté in the UK, and many top chefs, including Mark Hix and Albert Roux, won’t go near it because it’s so inhumane.

Tens of thousands of people have, like Morrissey, spoken out against department store Fortnum & Mason because it’s one of the few retailers that still sells foie gras. Will you take action on behalf of tortured ducks and geese, too?

Gordon Ramsay Image: gordonramsaysubmissions / CC BY 2.0
Morrissey Image: Charlie Llewellin / CC BY-SA 2.0