Step back in time...
Force feeding was already known of in the time of the Pharaohs; the ancient Egyptians practised it. The ancient Egyptians noticed that the geese and wild ducks that made their homes on the banks of the Nile would instinctively overfeed themselves to ensure that they had a sufficient energy reserve to keep them going throughout the long migration that they faced. The Egyptians applied this natural overeating process to their livestock, and thus became the first producers of foie gras. The Bible tells us that the Hebrews spent many years in Egypt, where they were most probably tasked with looking after farmyard animals. It was thus that the breeding of geese and ducks became, and remains to this day, a traditional practice within Jewish communities. When the Jewish Diaspora dispersed Jewish communities throughout the Roman Empire, this practice spread to the Middle-East, Central Europe and the Mediterranean. Apart from the historical aspect, other reasons have also been given to explain why foie gras farming took root in these areas. In the South East, the production of foie gras was linked with the development of corn farming, which has constituted the main source of nutrition for ducks and geese since the 17th and 18th centuries.
According to P. Vannier, “l'ABCdaire du Foie Gras”, A history.
© 2014 by Borman K.
