I enjoyed—and learned a few things—from this interview on Salon with chef/world-traveler/writer/televsion star Anthony Bourdain.

Bourdain talks about the fallacies around foie gras and the feeding techniques used to produce it. He comes on strongly against legislation that outlaws entire classes of foods or ingredients—something the quick-serve industry is generally against, too.

I find his arguments pretty compelling, but at times I have trouble deciding where to draw that line. Yes, liberal ol' me. I think parents, teachers, institutions, guardians, the whole village has a lot more to teach my child than a law keeping her from running across certain foods.

On one hand, it seems disclosure could help people make the kinds of decisions such laws are meant to make on our behalf. For one thing, I'm glad trans fats levels are on nutrition labels now, so I can moderate my purchases. But then, it's annoying to go around in places like California where warning notices are EVERYwhere: "Warning: This could make you INSTANTLY, HORRIFICALLY ill! Warning: This could disable you for LIFE!" They're not that bad, but the ubiquity is flat-out annoying.

And before anyone fills my comments area with protests against foie gras, let me state that I wouldn't eat it—although I do respect its place in traditional and gastronomic culture. Me, I don't eat any organ meats, or any dark-meat fowl, or really any meat that looks like its origin. (Anthony Bourdain would probably make fun of me about that, but that's all right.) I love a lot of vegetarian dishes, but couldn't go completely veggie myself.

After all, I get to be picky about meats as long as I don't order anyone else to be picky about them. Right?

Comment and let me know your take on the debates over outlawing foie gras, trans fats, and other hot-button foodie issues. After all, the same arguments could be used to outlaw fast food. Where do we draw the line? At what point does concern for public health become invasion of privacy? And to what degree could legislation help keep kids healthier?