A kind reader has brought it to my attention that in a NYTimes story on the foie gras debate, it was Paula Wolfert who said, "I rather be a force-fed duck than a Tyson chicken."
It would then make sense that I misheard Dan Barber's "be" for "eat" and he in fact was simply referencing Wolfert's widely quoted—and quoteworthy—quote.
Thank you, internet!