NEW YORK CITY, New York – An animal rights activist in New York claims even balut has animal rights, and wants it off the menu at a local restaurant.
Activist Gabrielle Hardy is urging Maharlika, a popular Filipino restaurant in New York, to stop serving the Filipino delicacy.
Balut is a popular food item in the Philippines and has been for generations. It is a boiled duck embryo that’s eaten directly off its shell. It is considered food for the masses although rich people secretly devour balut in the privacy of their mansions.
Hardy created the online petition two weeks ago saying that balut is disgusting and it should be taken off Maharlika’s menu. She said people should not eat the unborn duck fetus.
By Friday morning, the petition gained 4,659 signatures out of its goal of 5,000 signatures.
Immediately after the ban-the-balut petition was posted online, a group of Filipino New Yorkers created and posted a counter online petition asking the animal rights activist to shut up and leave their balut alone. “Why are they picking on balut when they should be protesting against hotels and restaurants for serving steaks and lobsters, or even asking the government to outlaw McDonald’s hamburger or Kentucky Fried Chicken?” they said.
The Filipinos also urged Maharlika Restaurant not only to keep balut on their menu but also to put a picture of the balut on the cover of their menu books.
By Saturday noon, more than 50,000 people, mostly Filipinos, had signed the counter petition.
New York City is home to some 80,000 Filipinos, the fourth largest Asian group in the city. In the entire U.S., the Filipino population currently stands at 3.4 Million.
Don’t mess with Filipinos in New York, or anywhere. And leave their balut alone!
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