Please review the use of Foie Gras and Dutch Veal within Le Cordon Bleu London. illegal in many countries throughout the world, including the UK, Foie Gras and indoor, milk-reared Veal are seen by many, including our own governments as cruel and unnecessary.
In Dutch veal production calves are reared within cramped indoor areas, with inadequate nutrition and an environment which stops them from being able to express their natural behavior. Such conditions lead to them becoming weak, ill and anemic, often unable to support themselves on their own two feet (a fact relished by the veal production companies who further inhibit the calves movement with the addition of fully-slatted floors.) The long transportation from the calves UK birth place to the Dutch factory farm where it will be reared is hugely stressful for the animals, many of whom do not survive the trip. I urge you to review the use of Veal with the school. UK reared Veal is of a much higher welfare standard. The calves use in the production of British Veal are a waste product form the dairy industry, and are reared close to their birth place and in a much more humane way. Thus, British Veal is the more humane and sustainable option. By using British Veal, Le Cordon Bleu would be teaching its students, by its example, the value of making sustainable and ethical choices within the catering industry.
I would also like to urge Le Cordon Bleu London not to use Foie gras, the production of which is hugely distressing the the birds. Birds fattened with Foie Gras force feeding methods face unbelievable stress, fear and discomfort. Bone fractures, liver pain and respiratory disorders are just some of the conditions the birds face in their short and stressful lives, and the birds try, in vain, to escape the person who force feeds them. When not being force fed the birds live in small, dark and damp pens and cages, which often have mesh floors which cause the birds a host of foot injuries. Force-feeding for foie gras production is specifically prohibited or prevented by general animal welfare legislation in many countries, including most provinces in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, yet the import of Foie gras into the UK continues. Although only liver which is swollen to 300-400g is currently allowed to be labeled Foie gras, humane substitutes are available such as Pateria de Sousa's Spanish alternative to Foie Gras. I urge Le Cordon Bleu to consider using such substitutions in their Kitchen, in replacement of Foie Gras.
Dear Director of Cordon Bleu,
Please review your policy on the use of these ingredients within the school. The production of Foie gras and Dutch Veal is inhumane, unsustainable and outdated. I hope Le Cordon Bleu can lead the way in yet another area of the catering industry by saying no to these cruel practices.
Thank you for taking the time to read this email.
