A chef makes the case for foie gras, and addresses the concerns regarding animal welfare

I'm no expert on the production of foie gras, but I am glad to see arguments about repugnant transactions and controversial markets that take seriously the concerns of opponents.

The Washington Post has the story.  

Why I’m proud to serve foie gras.  But first, let me take your concerns seriously.   By Bart Hutchins
Bart Hutchins is the chef and owner of Butterworth’s in Washington, D.C.

"There is now a proposed ballot initiative moving through Washington that would ban foie gras entirely. No producing it, no selling or serving it. Fines between $1,000 and $5,000 per violation. License suspension for repeat offenses

...

""I am asking you to not sign the petition. But first I want to do something the other side rarely does, which is to take their concerns seriously.

"Gavage — force-feeding through a tube inserted down a bird’s throat — looks terrible. I know because I have seen it. I understand completely why someone sees footage of it and reacts with horror. If you imagine the same thing done to human beings, it looks like violence.

"But here is what I also know, and what the activists with the megaphones do not know and do not want to know because it would complicate the argument they have decided to make.

...

' A duck’s esophagus, where the gavage tube is inserted, is desensitized, without a gag reflex, and it is capable of swallowing whole crustaceans and scaly fish in the wild. Its windpipe is separate from the esophagus, meaning the gavage process has no impact on breathing. More importantly, this overfeeding is something the bird does naturally. Before their annual migration, ducks gorge — they stuff themselves with excess food. The calories are stored as fat, not only in the liver but in the expanded esophagus. (The verb “gorge” comes from this behavior.) What foie gras farming does is amplify a natural biological process rather than invent a cruel one .

...

"The producer I buy foie gras from exemplifies the kind of care and attention good farming demands. Their ducks are raised for 15 weeks, about twice the poultry industry standard, in open barns, on a vegetarian diet. Force-feeding by hand happens three times a day for the final three weeks. Each feeding takes approximately 1½ seconds, and, from my observation, the ducks barely seem to notice it."   

#######

My previous posts about foie gras. 

  

Is repugnance to foie gras contagious?

The Guardian has the story from the UK, focusing on a particular restaurant, and its proprietor, who has withstood protests:

Pressure grows on British chefs after New York bans foie gras
Restaurateurs and MPs are turning against the delicacy after years of intense animal rights protests

"New York’s authorities have decided to ban shops and restaurants from selling it and campaigners want London – indeed, the whole of Britain – to follow suit.

“Banning it is a fad,” he says. “New York is just following a fad, going with the flow. If it is ethically raised, then I don’t see a problem. If they are [forcibly] fed on an industrial scale, I think that’s wrong. But the foie gras we serve comes from a family who look after their geese.”

"His stance is not one that most animal welfare campaigners agree with. Making foie gras generally relies on force-feeding ducks or geese for about two weeks, causing their livers to expand dramatically. Some farmers claim force-feeding – known as gavage – is unnecessary, but in France, where 98% of the foie gras eaten in Britain is made, a pâté can only be called foie gras if gavage is used."
**************

Recent related post:

Friday, November 1, 2019

No more foie gras in New York City

New York City considers bill to ban foie gras

Bill aims to ban sale of foie gras in New York restaurants over 'cruel' process
If bill passes, anyone violating the law could be liable to a $1,000 fine, up to a year in jail or both

"New York City council is considering outlawing the product – which derives from duck or goose and translates as “fatty liver” – which is a staple at many of its top restaurants.

"Critics of foie gras say the process is cruel because ducks and geese are overfed through a pipe which can expand the liver up to 10 times its normal size.

The proposed bill, which could be voted on in months, would ban the sale of foie gras made from birds that have " force fed and establishments from serving it.
...
"If New York introduces a ban it will put the city alongside California, which has a state-wide ban on the production and sale of foie gras. Chicago passed a ban in 2006, but it was overturned two years later.

"Whole Foods banned its sale in 1997 and Postmates ended deliveries of it last year.

"Outside the US, Britain, Israel and India all have bans on sale or production."
***********

For a different view, French law (Code rural) states
"Article L654-27-1
Créé par Loi n°2006-11 du 5 janvier 2006 - art. 74 JORF 6 janvier 2006
Le foie gras fait partie du patrimoine culturel et gastronomique protégé en France. On entend par foie gras, le foie d'un canard ou d'une oie spécialement engraissé par gavage."

Google translate: "Foie gras is part of the cultural and gastronomic heritage protected in France. By foie gras, the liver of a duck or a goose specially fattened by gavage."

Epicures and Duck Farms Get a Reprieve From New York’s Foie Gras Ban

The WSJ has the latest turn of events in this long running story:

Epicures and Duck Farms Get a Reprieve From New York’s Foie Gras Ban. The city ordinance fails to pass muster with the state’s Agriculture Department. by  Megan Keller

"Good news for New York City epicures and upstate farmers: Foie gras will remain on menus in the city. They can thank the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets, which last Wednesday found that the city’s ban on the avian delicacy violated the farmers’ rights under state law.

Foie gras is made from duck or goose livers fattened through a force-feeding process called gavage—administering gradually larger amounts of feed through a small tube in the bird’s throat. The farmers who produce foie gras say the ducks remain healthy and content throughout their lives, but some animal-rights activists consider the practice cruel. In 2019 the New York City Council enacted an ordinance banning the sale of foie gras, which was scheduled to take effect last month."

**********

Earlier: https://marketdesigner.blogspot.com/search?q=foie

 

Food fight in California: Foie gras is legal for private consumption from out of state providers

 The Ninth Circuit has confirmed a nuanced lower court verdict about foie gras, in the latest episode of a long running California food fight about gavage, the force feeding of ducks:

California court okays import of foie gras from out of state, barred in 2012. The law, passed in 2004, went into effect in 2012 and banned the sale of the delicacy if produced by force feeding geese or ducks.

"A California law that effectively bans foie gras sales in the state was limited in part on Friday. Californians can continue purchasing the controversial pate from out-of-state retailers, the ninth circuit court of appeals said in a ruling.

"The law, which passed in 2004 and went into effect in 2012, bars the sale of foie gras if produced by force feeding geese or ducks, according to Courthouse News Service. As the mousse is traditionally produced from the engorged livers of force-fed geese and ducks, the legislation is a near-prohibition.

‘It’s just gorgeous’: rare deep-sea dragonfish spotted off California coast

Read more

"The ninth circuit’s decision upheld a lower court’s 2020 ruling, which also permitted the shipping of out-of-state foie gras through third-party delivery companies, according to the Associated Press."

"This ruling is only applicable to people who purchase foie gras for their individual use; California law still bars retailers and restaurants from selling or giving away foie gras. The law has been challenged repeatedly since its enactment."