Is it too cruel to eat veal, foie gras and octopus?

Annual veal production has plummeted since the 1980s, from a high of 3.4 million calves to just fewer than 300,000 in 2023. The veal in the parmigianas and marsalas of old fancy restaurant menus has largely been replaced with chicken. What veal production does remain has shifted to more humane practices. But many eaters, if they encounter it, refuse to eat veal because of the association with excessive cruelty.

Dramatic changes in consumer perception and behavior like this don’t come from nowhere. And industry doesn’t change because it’s the right thing to do. In our latest podcast episode, we examine the campaign launched by animal rights activists to stop veal production and consumption, looking deeper at what created the outrage and how activists were able to effect change. But veal isn’t the only product that has come under fire for being especially cruel: We also examine the push to ban foie gras, the fatty liver of ducks and geese that have been force-fed, as well as current efforts to ban the factory farming of octopus.

Hear from animal rights experts as we tease out the issues involved and try to answer some big questions that these delicacies inspire: How do you measure cruelty? Do some animals deserve to suffer less than others because they’re especially cute or smart? And does your right to enjoy a fancy or delicious meal trump the right of an animal not to experience extreme cruelty?