I am 55. I have eaten meat all my life. I have decided rather too late I suppose that eating dead animals is only O.K. if they have been treated correctly i.e. have had a happy 'natural' life and a speedy,as pain free as possible death.It is what I want myself as a human animal! Too much to ask?

Helen, Leven,

I find it incredible that people have so few ethics that we only care about our actions when something (may) appear to be harmful to us. Even then, it has to be directly ourselves, not even our 'neighbour'. Or better yet, we argue that we're not as bad as the next person - oh, that's all ok then!

One day perhaps our selfishness will catch up with us, and the sooner the better. Until then I'll continue to be disgusted at human nature, the peak of evolution (ha!), be it centuries old traditions or some 'wonderful' new scientific discovery.

No, I'm not a tree-hugger, but there has to be a limit, surely, to our excesses?

Terri, london,

Surely the relevance of these tenuous suggestions would be supported or otherwise by stating the incidence of Amyloid or associated conditions in the French population, more interestingly that of South West France, where Foie Gras is mainly produced and regularly eaten. I find it hard to believe that the association has not been made before making these claims.
A visit to the Foie Gras Museum, close to Villeneuve-sur-Lot in Lot et Garonne, shows clearly that modern production of the stuff is not based on cruelty nowadays, and infinitely less disturbing than the production of most animal crops in the U.K., of which the general population seems to wallow in complete ignorance.

Dr C H Land, Penrith, Cumbria UK

How pathetic and closed minded most of you are. Not to mention lacking compassion. I have recently become vegan, but I am happy to say that I have passed on fole gras since i was 18 which was many decades ago (I turn 50 this year) due to the cruelty factor. I loved the stuff but have not missed it a bit... And I am proud to have boycotted something that is so cruel and inhumane. Wake up people!!! It is people like you that threaten the future of this planet. WAKE UP!!!!!

Roxanne Phillips, Azusa, CA/USA

Has anyone taken the time to find the actual paper? Maybe read it before jumping on the bandwagon for either side?

J, ottowa, Canada

Please consider how foie gras is produced: It shouldn't take concern for one's brain to cause anyone with a heart to reject this gruesomely made substance.

Mary F., Silver Spring, U.S.A./ Md.

I wonder how many of the people commenting on this eat factory farmed chicken - i.e. that which makes up the overwhelming majority of the chicken stocked in UK supermarkets and eaten by just about every meat-eater in the UK.

Having seen both the 'Foie Gras' and the 'factory chicken' methods of production at first hand, I can categorically confirm that the animal suffering by far the poorest quality of life is the latter and not the former.

So there you have it:- Foie Gras may indeed be tenuously linked to diseases such as Alzheimer's, but the link between eating factory-farmed chicken and consequently suffering from ignorance and hypocrisy appears far stronger.

Jon Leigh, Southern, France

There are over 64 million people in France,
How is this similar to 60 million?

Tomas, Derry,

I love the way the press will pull any conculsion out of a hazy comment by a researcher who needs some publicity to get funding.

Why don' t they try force feeding someone the mice that were force fed the foie gras. Now that's real science.

D Proudfoot, Aberdeen, Scotland

"..may be linked...". Yes, it's the "MAY" that's interesting! There's a big lobby of sandal-wearing bearded weidos out there who'd have us grazing and for going any animal product if they had their way - I am highly suspicious of this claim and will continue to eat seared fresh foie gras! Delicious with a glass of Chateau Y'qem!

John S M Roberts, seaford, UK

I have had at least two people very opposed to the idea of foie gras, until they tasted it, at which point they proclamied that maybe it wasn't so bad after all.
It is immensly tasty, and isn't any worse than breeding pigs with longer backs (for more spare ribs) or the poor Beligan Blue cattle, who are bred for an abnormal muscle structure, hence they are so big that the bulls can't even stand up, and the cows have to give birth by cesarian section. There's plenty of cruel things we do for nice food...

Emma, London,

I am disgusted by the responses that just because you eat a product which people object to on cruelty grounds makes you fair game to contract the slow death that is dementia. I suppose those who favour such a response would rather see more money go to animal welfare than proper welfare and/or research into an horrific disease that puts both sufferers and their families under extreme pressure with very little support from the community at large. If I knew that I was going to suffer from dementia in the future I would enjoy life the full now - that might include eating more foie gras.

DC, London,

darn, I always love foie gras but I admit it always seemed wrong.
maybe my instincts were correct.

billy, croydon,

Schadenfreude opportunity!

Alan Webb, London, UK

Perhaps that 'Mediterranean' diet is not so healthy afterall...

Sarah Hague, Montpellier, France

Perhaps you need alzheimers or similar to eat foie gras?

Esther, camberley,

Now we know that eating this stuff, produced through a perversion of nature, is unacceptable on practical as well as on moral grounds!
Incidentally the House of Fraser ban (to be followed by many more I hope) was for the latter reason, after pressure from animal welfare groups.

WPW, London,

What was the "extract of foie gras" that was injected into the mice? If it contained amyloid proteines then what did they expect?
Extracts can contain whatever they want them to contain..it seems a bit "ab-using the means to acheive an end" to me

D. Valentine, Cirencester, England

Sorry tree huggers and animal lovers, to quote Dr Solomons "only 2,000 to 3,000 people a year get primary amyloidosis" and this is worldwide and from all sources. Compare this with the number people with dementia and you can see that the relationship between foie gras and dementia is tenuous to say the least

C Byrne, Pinner, UK

very cruel production method Vets view

Trevor, London,

Interesting but the report is not very meaningful as such .

What it should say is how much foie gras needs to be eaten and over what period to produce the apparent effects ? is it
for example 50 grams daily over a year, or 50 grams once a year ?

HH, tunbridge wells,

Poetic justice!

sophie, norwich,

Poetic Justice!

sophie, norwich,

Question is: Were the MICE force fed the foie gras? Could be an important link to Alzheimer's.

D, Los Angeles, USA

How funny! Looks like those mistreated birds are having the last laugh.

Lynn, Mason, OH

Lucky mice!!! I can't afford British prices for foie gras, the mice obviously have cheaper suppliers.

Anyone done any studies of the French and the Belgians (who are the world's largest consumers of foie gras) with regard to dementia 'caused' by foie gras consumption? No? Really? Fancy that. Maybe that's because there isn't an actual link. I sometimes think 'scientists', as the saying goes, "don't have the sense God gave a goose."

A Gander, london,