Barbaric European food practices, Part I: The snail

[ConcernedCanuk]

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Barbaric European food practices, Part I: The snail

Posted: May 28, 2009, 1:30 PM by NP Editor

/snip/

To be a snail born in the EU is a very poor fate indeed. The terrestrial land snail, found throughout Western and Central Europe, is a harmless creature. Subsisting on a diet of algae and plant life, they pose no threat to anyone, and are certainly not hunters.

/snip/

These helpless creatures' defences have proven no match for the cruelty of man. For thousands of years, they have been hunted and subjected to bizarre tortures before being consumed as a delicacy by heartless and out-of-touch Europeans. Starting in Roman Times, this barbaric consumption of adorable snails has spread throughout the Eurozone, and is now concentrated most famously in France, where the French word for snail has become synonymous with the cruel preparation for the high-and-mighty - escargot.

To make proper escargot, the snails are first killed, then pried from their shells and gutted. Their remains are then cooked in butter, and -- in a truly despicable step -- are then poured back into their own hollowed-out shells, to be served with garlic and thyme. In order to avoid any toxicity, farm-bred snails are often starved several days before their slaughter, to purge their digestive tracts of anything which might be harmful or even unpalatable to humans. Prior to their culling, they're often put on a diet of nothing more than ground cereal, to fatten them up and avoid impacting on their taste.

The torture and abuse of these blameless mollusks for the culinary pleasure of the European upper-crush must be stopped. The National Post calls on all Canadians to boycott not just snails, but all European appetizers, until such time that the European Union takes action to stop this barbaric practice.

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Things that make me go hmmmmmm

:freak:

[YOY]

1. But oh so yummy.

n.t.

[closeupready]

2. Omigod I love escargot.

I could eat them every day if it wasn't so hard to find them in squeamish America. Sop up the butter with crusty bread - MMMMMMMM!

[MineralMan]

9. Being eaten was the fate of snails in my yard in California.

But, before they met that fate, they went from the garden to an enclosure, where they ate like royals, the better to cleanse their bodies of plants I'd rather not taste in my escargots.

Yumm!

[imdjh]

3. I can't tell if they are being funny or stupid.

[YOY]

4. Check out the actual article. Including this caption under a picture of a snail.

Photo: Terrified European snail flees heartless German snail-killers bent on ripping its life away. If you look closely, you can see the snail is crying.

Safe to say...humor.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Is this a retaliation of Europe banning seal imports from Canada?

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1896528,00.html
European Parliament passed a vote in Strasbourg to ban imports of seal products into the European Union — mainly from Canada.

[AspenRose]

6. Mmmmm....escargot

with butter and garlic.... :9

[madaboutharry]

7. I ate snails only once and I must say they

are absolutely delicious.

This was at a restuarant in Los Angeles. I have only seen them one or two more times on a menu since.

[sharp_stick]

8. That is funny

kind of makes one wonder where we go from killing something that doesn't count (snail) to something that does (seal, heifer, pig, crab, cod....).

The line is kind of hazy but I suppose we each have one that we won't cross.

[MineralMan]

10. Save the yummy invertebrates! For me!

[whistler162]

11. Next up that poisonous fruit the TOMATO!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[paulsby]

13. aka the love apple nt

[DS1]

12. the snails are first killed. what's the issue?

It's not like they're doped up, acupunctured, and eaten while still breathing like some fish in japan

[closeupready]

16. Or oysters, of course.

Which is also a favorite of mine, sorry. :rofl:

[FrenchieCat]

14. My favorite!

I can just smell them now.....or at least the garlic and parsley! mmmmMMMM, délicieux!

[bicentennial_baby]

15. L'escargot is yummo

:9

[Peregrine Took]

17. I used to love escargot, too, but like everything else in the sentient being

realm - once you get to "know" something you can't imagine eating it or killing it.

We took some snails from our garden and put them in a terrarium over the winter (we have since put them back in the garden) and they were fun little guys to observe.

Naturally, we gave them names, found out their favorite foods and would just check on them and their activities several times a day. Sometimes they were very active and other times they would hibernate.

Unfortunately, one of them drowned (too much water at the bottom)and we felt terrible. His buddy perched over him on the glass and stayed there for the rest of the winter.

One time they canoodled together for hours. It was sweet.

[booley]

18. Not sure I get the point of this

Yes the snail is generally harmless (unless you're a cabbage)

So is the author saying it's only right to eat man eating tigers and rabid feral dogs?

I mean by this logic we couldn't eat plants since they are even less aggressive and dangerous. So what's left?

Ahh but it's humor. So another victim of POE's Law

[NV Whino]

19. Is this a PETA thread?

[csziggy]

20. I love the comment about the frogs legs

You think escargot is barbaric, how about the horrific practice of frog leg amputation for use as an elitest delicacy? It reminded me of this:

[proteus_lives]

21. I've never had escargot, is it good?

What would you guys compare it to?

[Retrograde]

23. it's all in the sauce

I've had free-range, organically raised snails (caught them feasting on my basil, so it was into the pot with them, after a week of dining on lettuce), and they tasted like garlic-flavored rubber bands. I've seen people happily eating them in France, and a woman of Chinese extraction gave me a recipe for snails in black bean sauce once, so I think the snails are just an excuse to eat tasty sauces.

[alfredo]

22. They eat horses!!!

though they taste delicious, as a Kentucky boy I must protest.