5 controversial dishes because of their cruelty

Foie gras

Foie gras has been associated with traditional French cuisine as an unchanging pride.

Fattened foie gras is usually sold in whole pieces, then cut into small portions for processing. The liver can be pan-fried directly and served with sauce, or transformed into many different dishes. And no matter in what form, this dish always attracts diners because of its characteristic fatty but not greasy, delicious in a delicate and light way. Foie gras has been associated with traditional French cuisine as an unchanging pride.

However, to get the famous foie gras, people have to apply rough farming methods, constantly stuffing food into the geese.

However, there are many scandals surrounding this famous dish. While animal rights activists have long condemned the brutal farming of foie gras, chefs have ignored this strong opposition and only see foie gras as a precious and wonderful ingredient.

The truth is, to get those enticing pieces of liver interspersed with layers of shimmering, golden fat, people have applied a brutal form of farming: Food tubes are connected to the geese's mouths almost 24/7, constantly stuffing grain into their stomachs, forcing the livers to work continuously and grow to oversize.

Shark fin

Shark fins are openly dried on the streets of Hong Kong in 2014. Photo: AFP.

Shark fin, a famous Chinese soup ingredient, is the third most valuable commodity on the black market, after gold and guns, and above ivory. Shark fin soup was created by a Song Dynasty emperor in the 10th century to show off his power and wealth to his courtiers at banquets. Since then, this dish has been considered one of the symbols of class and wealth, favored by today's wealthy class.

After being caught, sharks will have all their fins completely cut off by fishermen, including 2 dorsal fins, 2 pectoral fins, 3 pre-caudal fins and the lower caudal fin.

However, the fishing process to get the most expensive shark fins on the planet has been condemned by many organizations for its cruelty. Accordingly, each shark will be caught on land, they will completely cut off all the fins, including 2 dorsal fins, 2 pectoral fins, 3 pre-caudal fins and the lower caudal fin. Because only the fins are needed, what is left is considered worthless.

Whether the fish are alive or dead, they will be thrown back into the sea. At this point, the shark's fate is also very tragic. Severely injured, unable to swim, they can only wait to die from blood loss or be torn apart by other fish.

Monkey brain

This dish was invented by Empress Dowager Cixi and served to honorable guests. It is considered the most elaborate and luxurious dish, but it also tops the list of brutality and cruelty.

Monkey brains top the list of brutal foods.

After being captured, the monkeys are fed the purest foods such as bird's nest, ginseng, deer antler wine and bathed daily to remove the body odor. People raise the monkeys in such conditions for about a week before bringing them out to prepare a feast. When preparing a feast, each monkey is smeared with fragrant perfume and locked in a cage with a small hole drilled just enough for the monkey's head to protrude.

When eating, the eunuchs would use an ivory hammer to hit the monkey's head, killing it instantly, then use a knife to cut open the monkey's head so they could scoop up the monkey's brain to eat. Usually, the monkey's brain would be boiled in a bowl of hot ginseng to cook it. During the party, every 5 guests would enjoy a monkey's brain by using a silver spoon and scooping it directly from the head of the newly killed monkey.

Live octopus

Sannakji is a famous Korean delicacy. Live octopus is eaten whole or cut into small pieces and enjoyed while the tentacles are still wriggling. Diners love this dish not only because of the freshness of the octopus, but also because of the unique feeling when the octopus tentacles stick to the mouth.

Diners love this dish not only because of the freshness of the octopus, but also because of the special feeling when the octopus tentacles stick to their mouths.

For whole eating, the octopus is usually small. The eater will hold it with their hands or wrap it around chopsticks to put it in their mouth. However, this way of eating is quite dangerous, requiring the eater to chew hard and carefully, otherwise it will be easy to choke. In addition, many diners can choose to cut the octopus into small pieces while it is still alive and eat it immediately afterwards.

Live octopus is dipped in soy sauce mixed with mustard and sprinkled with sesame. Many people rate this dish as very delicious, with a natural sweetness without any fishy taste.

However, this dish has been heavily criticized by animal activists, who say that preparing and eating it raw is cruel.

Balut

Balut is a nutritious dish but causes a lot of controversy.

Balut is one of the popular snacks in Vietnam and is considered a nutritious dish. Besides Vietnam, this dish is also popular in some other Asian countries such as China, Philippines and Cambodia. However, this is a horror dish for many people in the world when they cannot understand why they can eat eggs when the embryo has developed into shape? In 2016, this dish was voted by the British newspaper Daily Mail to be at the top of the list of 10 most "horrifying" dishes on the planet.