Although sometimes it feels disheartening being vegan because the lifestyle is still misunderstood by so many people, other times good stories reach the media that confirm how powerful vegans really are to make a wonderful difference in the world.  

• Forget the Foie Gras! 

Recently, a UK chef called Mark Dixon decided to put foie gras on the Valentine’s Day menu at the Kings Arms at Fleggburgh restaurant where he works. This was not taken well by vegans who protested against his decision. Foie gras is animal cruelty at its best. To produce it, ducks or geese have pounds of fat and grain pumped into their stomachs so that they can their livers increase in size. The poor animals are not only hurt, but battle to stand and are kept in cages where they get dirty and covered in excrement, unable to groom themselves. Foie gras only makes use of the livers of male animals but the females also suffer a horrible fate: they are thrown into grinders when they’re still alive, their ground-up bodies being used as cat food or fertilizer. When you know this backstory, it’s impossible to think of foie gras as being a romantic meal!

• Vegans United Against Abuse 

So, when Dixon mentioned the foie gras meal that would be featured at the restaurant on Facebook, many people called into the restaurant to express their horror. Some people even gave him death threats. The restaurant claimed that the protesters’ unfair behaviour led them to remove the foie gras from their menu.  Although the death threats might be taking it too far, the point is that rising up against animal cruelty can result in victory. The key thing to remember is that the victory is for the animals. The less demand there is for meat dishes such as foie gras, the less animals will be mercilessly tortured for it. *Image courtesy  iPics  / Dollar Photo Club