Foie gras controversy
Encyclopedia
The production of foie gras
(the liver
of a duck
or a goose that has been specially fattened) involves the controversial force-feeding of birds with more food than they would eat in the wild, and more than they would voluntarily eat domestically. The feed, usually corn boiled with fat (to facilitate ingestion), deposits large amounts of fat
in the liver, thereby producing the buttery consistency sought by some gastronomes.
(PETA), Farm Sanctuary
the Humane Society of the United States
and the Animal Legal Defense Fund
contend that foie gras production methods, and force feeding in particular, consist of cruel and inhumane treatment of animals. Specific complaints include livers swollen to many times their normal size, impaired liver function, expansion of the abdomen making it difficult for birds to walk, death if the force feeding is continued, and scarring of the esophagus
.
In modern gavage-based foie gras production, force feeding takes place 12–18 days before slaughter. PETA claims that the insertion and removal of the feeding tube scratches the throat and the esophagus, causing irritations and wounds and thus exposing the animal to risk of painful and mortal infections.
In 2001, the Director of the New York State Government Affairs & Public Policy Dept. for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
, which is one of the nation's leading environmental activist groups, wrote a letter to then NYS Attorney General, Elliot Spitzer, asking that the state's foie gras producers be prosecuted for violating animal cruelty statutes.
Late in 2003, the French group Stopgavage ("Citizens' Initiative for the banning of force-feeding") published the Proclamation for the Abolition of Force Feeding, which asks justices to find foie gras production practices a violation of existing animal welfare laws. For this manifesto Stopgavage claims the support of over eighty French animal rights and welfare associations, over a hundred such associations from 25 other countries, and over 20 thousand individual signatories.
Stopgavage, through its president Antoine Comiti, has criticized the INRA
(a French public research institute) for allowing its researchers to receive grants from the foie gras industry for conducting research aimed at contradicting the EU report conclusions. Robert Dantzer, a retired INRA researcher, calls the INRA studies "pseudoscience" and "convenience research".
In 2005, the organisations APRL
, IDA
and PETA
released a video narrated by Sir Roger Moore
showing footage the groups took inside the three U.S. foie gras farms and several in France.
PETA wants this practice, which they say is cruel, stopped. Various American celebrities have lent their voices to this public campaign. Most recently in April 2009 PETA released a letter written by the late television and stage actor Beatrice Arthur
to TV chef Curtis Stone
deploring the practice of Foie gras.
's Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare on Welfare Aspects of the Production of Foie Gras in Ducks and Geese, adopted on December 16, 1998, is an 89-page review of studies from several producing countries. It examines several indicators of animal welfare, including physiological indicators, liver pathology, and mortality rate. It strongly concludes that "force feeding, as currently practised, is detrimental to the welfare of the birds."
Members of the committee describe how geese and ducks show "avoidance behaviour indicating aversion for the person who feeds them and the feeding procedure". Although the committee reported that there is no "conclusive" scientific evidence on the aversive nature of force feeding, and that evidence of injury is "small", in their overall recommendations, the committee stated that "the management and housing of the birds used for producing foie gras have a negative impact on their welfare".
On physiology, the report finds that based on studies available, "no definite conclusions can be drawn concerning the physiological activity of birds in response to force feeding" because although "force feeding induced hepatic steatosis in the duck or goose", "hepatic steatosis in the waterfowl is a normal metabolic response" and there was a low incidence of disease indicating lesions. If gavage is stopped the "return to normal took approximately four weeks". As an economic indicator the report states "it is strongly in the interest of the farmer" to avoid disease as the "resulting fat liver is of no commercial value". It summarizes that "some pathologists consider this level of steatosis to be pathological but others do not" and recommends that research "should be carried out into methods of producing fat liver which do not require the use of force feeding".
The EU report notes that continued force feeding leads to early death of the animal, and the birds are typically slaughtered just at the point that mortality would drastically increase from the force feeding. In the studies it examined, "the mortality rate in force fed birds varies from 2% to 4% in the two week force feeding period compared with around 0.2% in comparable ducks".
On the force feeding process, The EU committee examined several experiments carried out by INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
) to detect pain or distress by looking at blood hormones, and found that no definite conclusions can be drawn from these studies. Other studies looked at behavioral aversion to the feeding process and found that force fed ducks avoided the feeding pen when given a choice, whereas a majority of the control group not being force fed would enter the feeding pen voluntarily. Daily hand-feeding of ducks and geese is normally associated with a positive response by the animals towards the person feeding them. In contrast, the working group observed that ducks and geese in a pen kept away from their force feeder when he entered the room. In an unpublished pilot experiment by INRA, ducks in cages reportedly displayed less avoidance behaviour to the force feeder’s visit than to the visit of a neutral person coming along the cages later. However, in the working group's own observations, "Ducks in cages had little opportunity to show avoidance but sometimes moved their heads away from the person who was about to force feed them."
The report also recommends collection of additional data regarding the health of the animals, feeding methods, animal housing, and socio-economic factors.
House of Delegates, the US accrediting body of veterinary medicine, was forwarded resolutions from its Animal Welfare Committee to oppose the production methods for foie gras. After hearing testimony from 13 delegates, the HOD declined to take a position and left a simple statement: "Limited peer-reviewed, scientific information is available dealing with the animal welfare concerns associated with foie gras production, but the observations and practical experience shared by HOD members indicate a minimum of adverse effects on the birds involved."
The HOD sent delegates to visit foie gras farms. One delegate, Robert P Gordon of New Jersey, indicated his personal position changed drastically after the visit. He also testified tube feeding is less distressing than taking the rectal temperature of a cat and urged the AVMA to take a position based on science, not emotion, while cautioning against anthropomorphism
. The New York delegation offered their opinion that opponents of foie gras were intending to create a wedge issue
; that the arguments used against foie gras would be modified to be used against other livestock production. The testimony of the delegate from the Association of Avian Veterinarians was that medicating and feeding sick birds via tube was a normal practice that birds accepted without stress. Another delegate who toured the farms stated that the birds appeared to be well cared for and better off than other poultry raised in factory farming
. The overall position of the House of Delegates was that, "...observations and practical experience shared by HOD members indicate a minimum of adverse effects on the birds involved." The closing comments in the HOD were that the AVMA should be taking positions on facts and science, make broad policy positions on general animal welfare, and support positions that created oversight of controversial practices for fear that prohibition
would cause production to move to countries without animal welfare regulation.
Critics of the AVMA have stated that the organization tends to defend the economic interests of agribusiness over animal welfare, and that it has also declined to take a position against other controversial practices such as forced molting
and gestation crates.
(a retailer of natural and organic products). At that time, Margaret Wittenberg, Communications Director for Whole Foods, and Michael Corsello, National Cheese Buyer and Coordinator for Whole Foods, "found the trip to be very upsetting".
In June 2005, New York Times editor Lawrence Downes
was invited to a visit of the same farm, including specifically the gavage process, and he "saw no pain or panic...The birds submitted matter-of-factly to a 15-inch tube inserted down the throat for about three seconds, delivering about a cup of corn pellets. The practice...seemed neither particularly gentle nor particularly rough."
Dr. Ward Stone, wildlife pathologist with the NYSDEC and Adjunct Professor at SUNY
has on several occasions conducted post-mortems on ducks that died from force feeding, including from the same farm a few months after Mr. Downes' visit. In September 2005, he writes, "...the short tortured lives of ducks raised for Foie Gras is well outside the norm of farm practice. Having seen the pathology that occurs from Foie Gras production, I strongly recommend that this practice be outlawed."
In December 2005, a New York State veterinary group toured the same farm. Dr. Holly Cheever noted, "Based upon my previous observations, it was clear to me that the operations at this facility had been altered and choreographed so as to display a more humane system and to eliminate the more cruel aspects of the production method." However, other members of the visiting group did not express these reservations.
Dr. Cheever is an outspoken critic of the consumption of foie gras, has contributed to numerous publications advocating vegetarianism, and is a prominent proponent of other animal rights causes including banning organized equestrian sports.
In 2005, the delegates from New Jersey and Vermont of the American Veterinary Medical Association gave testimony to the organization after touring tube-feeding farms. Dr. Robert Gordon had visited a farm in New York on July 5th. He noted, "After being on the premises, my position changed dramatically. I did not see animals I would consider distressed, and I didn't see pain and suffering." As written at AVMA news, Dr. Thomas Munschauer visited a New York farm at the request of "both sides." "I didn't see exploding esophaguses ... and it didn't seem like the birds were distressed. For the most part, they appear to be well-cared-for. That's what I saw."
In January 2009, The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureau
recommended that New Jersey-based foie gras producer D'Artagnan cease advertising claims that their product is made from “enlarged” rather than “diseased” livers, and that the animals were “hand-raised with tender care…”. D'Artagnan voluntarily modified their advertising to remove the claims which the agency said had not been “adequately substantiated.”
According to Industry groups including the CIFOG, and researchers at INRA
, forced feeding is not a cruel procedure.
Mirepoix USA, a top provider of goose and duck foie gras, alleges that the animal rights activists attack is a form of prohibition against a cuisine item. Mirepoix claims that the use of the term "diseased" to refer to fatted liver is inaccurate and that geese and ducks naturally store dead fish in their esophagi for long periods of time.
and chef/writer Michael Ruhlman
have both supported foie gras production from humanely treated, properly raised ducks, and stated that the footage seen in the videos of critics is cruel but that no reputable chef would buy such product. However other celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck
, and Albert Roux
are against the use of foie gras. Roux has argued that foie gras should come with a warning so that "people know what's being done to the animals." He states that "More humane methods should be used that allow the animal to gorge themselves naturally." Chicago chef Charlie Trotter
maintains that the production of foie gras is "too cruel to be served." However, Trotter refused to be associated with animal rights groups stating "These people are idiots. Understand my position: I have nothing to do with a group like that. I think they're pathetic."
In 2003, the Animal Protection and Rescue League
and In Defense of Animals filed suit against Sonoma Foie Gras in California under the state's unfair business practices law, alleging animal cruelty. The farm also sued the two groups and four activists who documented conditions at the farm for trespass. The Legislature then intervened with a law allowing the farm to continue force feeding until the year 2012, after which point both the sale and production of foie gras will be illegal in California.
In 2006, Sonoma Foie Gras sued Whole Foods Market
for intentional interference with contract for influencing Grimaud Farms to stop supplying ducklings and marketing for Sonoma. The suit is still pending as of February 2007.
Also pending is a 2006 lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States against the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, alleging that foie gras qualifies as an adulterated food that should not be sold.
In 2011, the Animal Legal Defense Fund
filed a legal petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), urging that foie gras bear a consumer warning label stating “NOTICE: Foie gras products are derived from diseased birds.” Because the USDA is responsible for ensuring that poultry products are wholesome and for approving only products from healthy animals, stamping foie gras products with the USDA seal without disclosing that those products are derived from diseased birds misleads consumers, contravening the Poultry Products Inspection Act.
's European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes.
The force feeding of animals for non-medical purposes, essential to current foie gras production practices, is explicitly prohibited by specific laws in six of nine Austrian provinces, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, or following interpretation of general animal protection laws in Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. However, Foie Gras can still be imported into and purchased in these countries.
Most of these countries aren't currently producing foie gras, nor have they been in the past. Thus, these bans have stopped actual foie gras production in very few countries.
Turkey
also banned the force feeding of animals on June 24, 2004 by the enactment of the Animal Protection Law No: 1/323.
Since 1997, the number of European countries producing foie gras has halved. Only five countries still produce foie gras: Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, France and Hungary.
In France, the fattening is achieved through gavage
(force-feeding) corn, according to French law. French law states that "Foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France."
, enacted in 2004 and to become effective July 1, 2012, prohibit the "force feed[ing of] a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird's liver beyond normal size" as well as the sale of products that are a result of this process.
City of San Diego: On January 8, 2008, the San Diego City Council unanimously passed a resolution that "commends the Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL) for raising awareness of the cruel practice of force-feeding ducks and geese to produce foie gras, commends the many San Diego restaurants that have stopped selling foie gras before the California statewide ban goes into effect, and encourages San Diegans to avoid supporting this extreme form of animal cruelty." The resolution also cites an independent Zogby poll finding that 85% of San Diegans favor an immediate ban on foie gras.
City of Chicago: On 26 April 2006, the Chicago City Council voted to ban the sale of foie gras, effective 22 August 2006 Breaches of the ban were to be punished with fines of $250–$500. Alderman
Joe Moore, who proposed the ban, described the method by which foie gras is produced as "clearly animal cruelty."
In response, several Chicago chefs filed suit and deliberately violated the law by continuing to sell foie gras. Furthermore, a handful of chefs served foie gras without charge, which they considered not to be against the law. Even for establishments that were violating the law, the City issued warning letters but, until February 17, 2007, no citations were given. On that date, Doug Sohn, owner of a gourmet hot dog shop was charged with a violation. Although the fine could have been as high as $500, Sohn agreed to pay a $250 fine on March 29. Several unusual dishes, including foie gras pizza, have been created in Chicago
, in defiance of the City Council's banning of foie gras. 46,000 pounds of foie gras were sold in Chicago in 2006.
In December 2006, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
referred to the ban as "the silliest law" the City Council has ever passed. As a result of the ban, Chicago restaurants Spiaggia and Tru developed dishes designed to simulate the foie gras experience. Chicago Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vettel found Tru's "Faux Gras" "close to the real thing", and Spiaggia's "terrina
de fagato grasso vegetariano" "undeniably rich and indulgent", but "[lacking] the characteristic foie-gras intensity".
In response to Mayor Daley's objections on the foie gras ban, the City Council overwhelmingly repealed Chicago's ban on May 14, 2008.
ordered the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture to ban the force feeding of geese, effective 31 March 2005. The last appeal was withdrawn in October 2005, but the law was left unenforced until February 2006. Most protest activities were conducted by the Anonymous for Animal Rights
organization, which also tracks the enforcement of the ban, and files complaints against farms that conduct illegal force feeding.
Foie gras
Foie gras ; French for "fat liver") is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. This fattening is typically achieved through gavage corn, according to French law, though outside of France it is occasionally produced using natural feeding...
(the liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
of a duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
or a goose that has been specially fattened) involves the controversial force-feeding of birds with more food than they would eat in the wild, and more than they would voluntarily eat domestically. The feed, usually corn boiled with fat (to facilitate ingestion), deposits large amounts of fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
in the liver, thereby producing the buttery consistency sought by some gastronomes.
Animal rights and welfare groups
Animal rights and welfare activist groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of AnimalsPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
(PETA), Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is an American animal protection organization, founded in 1986 as an advocate for farm animals. It promotes laws and policies that support animal welfare, animal protection and vegetarianism/veganism through rescue, education and advocacy...
the Humane Society of the United States
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....
and the Animal Legal Defense Fund
Animal Legal Defense Fund
The Animal Legal Defense Fund is an American non-profit law organization that aims to protect the rights and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. It was founded in 1979 by attorneys active in shaping the emerging field of animal law. The ALDF has campaigned for stronger...
contend that foie gras production methods, and force feeding in particular, consist of cruel and inhumane treatment of animals. Specific complaints include livers swollen to many times their normal size, impaired liver function, expansion of the abdomen making it difficult for birds to walk, death if the force feeding is continued, and scarring of the esophagus
Esophagus
The esophagus is an organ in vertebrates which consists of a muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. During swallowing, food passes from the mouth through the pharynx into the esophagus and travels via peristalsis to the stomach...
.
In modern gavage-based foie gras production, force feeding takes place 12–18 days before slaughter. PETA claims that the insertion and removal of the feeding tube scratches the throat and the esophagus, causing irritations and wounds and thus exposing the animal to risk of painful and mortal infections.
In 2001, the Director of the New York State Government Affairs & Public Policy Dept. for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing cruelty towards animals...
, which is one of the nation's leading environmental activist groups, wrote a letter to then NYS Attorney General, Elliot Spitzer, asking that the state's foie gras producers be prosecuted for violating animal cruelty statutes.
Late in 2003, the French group Stopgavage ("Citizens' Initiative for the banning of force-feeding") published the Proclamation for the Abolition of Force Feeding, which asks justices to find foie gras production practices a violation of existing animal welfare laws. For this manifesto Stopgavage claims the support of over eighty French animal rights and welfare associations, over a hundred such associations from 25 other countries, and over 20 thousand individual signatories.
Stopgavage, through its president Antoine Comiti, has criticized the INRA
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
The Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique is a French public research institute dedicated to scientific studies surrounding the problems of agriculture...
(a French public research institute) for allowing its researchers to receive grants from the foie gras industry for conducting research aimed at contradicting the EU report conclusions. Robert Dantzer, a retired INRA researcher, calls the INRA studies "pseudoscience" and "convenience research".
In 2005, the organisations APRL
Animal Protection and Rescue League
The Animal Protection and Rescue League is an American 501 non-profit organization that works to document and expose cruelty inflicted on animals behind closed doors, particularly in factory farms....
, IDA
In Defense of Animals
In Defense of Animals is an animal rights organization founded in 1983 in San Rafael, California, USA. It has 60,000 members and an annual budget of $650,000. The group's slogan is "working to protect the rights, welfare, and habitats of animals"....
and PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
released a video narrated by Sir Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
showing footage the groups took inside the three U.S. foie gras farms and several in France.
PETA wants this practice, which they say is cruel, stopped. Various American celebrities have lent their voices to this public campaign. Most recently in April 2009 PETA released a letter written by the late television and stage actor Beatrice Arthur
Beatrice Arthur
Beatrice "Bea" Arthur was an American actress, comedienne and singer whose career spanned seven decades. Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, winning Emmy Awards for both...
to TV chef Curtis Stone
Curtis Stone
Curtis Stone is an Australian celebrity chef, author and television personality, nicknamed "The Quiet Terminator" by fans following his performance on The Celebrity Apprentice 3.-Background:...
deploring the practice of Foie gras.
EU Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Welfare
The report of the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare on Welfare Aspects of the Production of Foie Gras in Ducks and Geese, adopted on December 16, 1998, is an 89-page review of studies from several producing countries. It examines several indicators of animal welfare, including physiological indicators, liver pathology, and mortality rate. It strongly concludes that "force feeding, as currently practised, is detrimental to the welfare of the birds."
Members of the committee describe how geese and ducks show "avoidance behaviour indicating aversion for the person who feeds them and the feeding procedure". Although the committee reported that there is no "conclusive" scientific evidence on the aversive nature of force feeding, and that evidence of injury is "small", in their overall recommendations, the committee stated that "the management and housing of the birds used for producing foie gras have a negative impact on their welfare".
On physiology, the report finds that based on studies available, "no definite conclusions can be drawn concerning the physiological activity of birds in response to force feeding" because although "force feeding induced hepatic steatosis in the duck or goose", "hepatic steatosis in the waterfowl is a normal metabolic response" and there was a low incidence of disease indicating lesions. If gavage is stopped the "return to normal took approximately four weeks". As an economic indicator the report states "it is strongly in the interest of the farmer" to avoid disease as the "resulting fat liver is of no commercial value". It summarizes that "some pathologists consider this level of steatosis to be pathological but others do not" and recommends that research "should be carried out into methods of producing fat liver which do not require the use of force feeding".
The EU report notes that continued force feeding leads to early death of the animal, and the birds are typically slaughtered just at the point that mortality would drastically increase from the force feeding. In the studies it examined, "the mortality rate in force fed birds varies from 2% to 4% in the two week force feeding period compared with around 0.2% in comparable ducks".
On the force feeding process, The EU committee examined several experiments carried out by INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
The Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique is a French public research institute dedicated to scientific studies surrounding the problems of agriculture...
) to detect pain or distress by looking at blood hormones, and found that no definite conclusions can be drawn from these studies. Other studies looked at behavioral aversion to the feeding process and found that force fed ducks avoided the feeding pen when given a choice, whereas a majority of the control group not being force fed would enter the feeding pen voluntarily. Daily hand-feeding of ducks and geese is normally associated with a positive response by the animals towards the person feeding them. In contrast, the working group observed that ducks and geese in a pen kept away from their force feeder when he entered the room. In an unpublished pilot experiment by INRA, ducks in cages reportedly displayed less avoidance behaviour to the force feeder’s visit than to the visit of a neutral person coming along the cages later. However, in the working group's own observations, "Ducks in cages had little opportunity to show avoidance but sometimes moved their heads away from the person who was about to force feed them."
The report also recommends collection of additional data regarding the health of the animals, feeding methods, animal housing, and socio-economic factors.
American Veterinary Medical Association
In 2004 and 2005, the American Veterinary Medical AssociationAmerican Veterinary Medical Association
The American Veterinary Medical Association , founded in 1863, is a not-for-profit association representing more than 81,500 U.S. veterinarians working in private and corporate practice, government, industry, academia, and uniformed services....
House of Delegates, the US accrediting body of veterinary medicine, was forwarded resolutions from its Animal Welfare Committee to oppose the production methods for foie gras. After hearing testimony from 13 delegates, the HOD declined to take a position and left a simple statement: "Limited peer-reviewed, scientific information is available dealing with the animal welfare concerns associated with foie gras production, but the observations and practical experience shared by HOD members indicate a minimum of adverse effects on the birds involved."
The HOD sent delegates to visit foie gras farms. One delegate, Robert P Gordon of New Jersey, indicated his personal position changed drastically after the visit. He also testified tube feeding is less distressing than taking the rectal temperature of a cat and urged the AVMA to take a position based on science, not emotion, while cautioning against anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
. The New York delegation offered their opinion that opponents of foie gras were intending to create a wedge issue
Wedge issue
A wedge issue is a social or political issue, often of a divisive or otherwise controversial nature, which splits apart or creates a "wedge" in the support base of one political group...
; that the arguments used against foie gras would be modified to be used against other livestock production. The testimony of the delegate from the Association of Avian Veterinarians was that medicating and feeding sick birds via tube was a normal practice that birds accepted without stress. Another delegate who toured the farms stated that the birds appeared to be well cared for and better off than other poultry raised in factory farming
Factory farming
Factory farming is a term referring to the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a factory — a practice typical in industrial farming by agribusinesses. The main products of this industry are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption...
. The overall position of the House of Delegates was that, "...observations and practical experience shared by HOD members indicate a minimum of adverse effects on the birds involved." The closing comments in the HOD were that the AVMA should be taking positions on facts and science, make broad policy positions on general animal welfare, and support positions that created oversight of controversial practices for fear that prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
would cause production to move to countries without animal welfare regulation.
Critics of the AVMA have stated that the organization tends to defend the economic interests of agribusiness over animal welfare, and that it has also declined to take a position against other controversial practices such as forced molting
Forced molting
Induced molting is the practice by the commercial egg industry of artificially provoking a complete flock of hens to molt simultaneously. During the molting period, the hens go out of production for a period of at least two weeks. This has the effect of allowing the hen's reproductive tracts to...
and gestation crates.
Third-party opinions on U.S.-produced foie gras
In 1997, Dr. Cheever, DVM, vice-president and board member of The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, toured the Hudson Valley Foie Gras farm, owned by Michael Ginor, at the request of Whole Foods MarketWhole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
(a retailer of natural and organic products). At that time, Margaret Wittenberg, Communications Director for Whole Foods, and Michael Corsello, National Cheese Buyer and Coordinator for Whole Foods, "found the trip to be very upsetting".
In June 2005, New York Times editor Lawrence Downes
Lawrence Downes
Lawrence Downes is an American journalist and member of the editorial board of The New York Times since 2004.Downes works principally on editorials for the regional opinion sections which appear in the Westchester, Long Island and city weekly sections...
was invited to a visit of the same farm, including specifically the gavage process, and he "saw no pain or panic...The birds submitted matter-of-factly to a 15-inch tube inserted down the throat for about three seconds, delivering about a cup of corn pellets. The practice...seemed neither particularly gentle nor particularly rough."
Dr. Ward Stone, wildlife pathologist with the NYSDEC and Adjunct Professor at SUNY
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
has on several occasions conducted post-mortems on ducks that died from force feeding, including from the same farm a few months after Mr. Downes' visit. In September 2005, he writes, "...the short tortured lives of ducks raised for Foie Gras is well outside the norm of farm practice. Having seen the pathology that occurs from Foie Gras production, I strongly recommend that this practice be outlawed."
In December 2005, a New York State veterinary group toured the same farm. Dr. Holly Cheever noted, "Based upon my previous observations, it was clear to me that the operations at this facility had been altered and choreographed so as to display a more humane system and to eliminate the more cruel aspects of the production method." However, other members of the visiting group did not express these reservations.
Dr. Cheever is an outspoken critic of the consumption of foie gras, has contributed to numerous publications advocating vegetarianism, and is a prominent proponent of other animal rights causes including banning organized equestrian sports.
In 2005, the delegates from New Jersey and Vermont of the American Veterinary Medical Association gave testimony to the organization after touring tube-feeding farms. Dr. Robert Gordon had visited a farm in New York on July 5th. He noted, "After being on the premises, my position changed dramatically. I did not see animals I would consider distressed, and I didn't see pain and suffering." As written at AVMA news, Dr. Thomas Munschauer visited a New York farm at the request of "both sides." "I didn't see exploding esophaguses ... and it didn't seem like the birds were distressed. For the most part, they appear to be well-cared-for. That's what I saw."
In January 2009, The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
recommended that New Jersey-based foie gras producer D'Artagnan cease advertising claims that their product is made from “enlarged” rather than “diseased” livers, and that the animals were “hand-raised with tender care…”. D'Artagnan voluntarily modified their advertising to remove the claims which the agency said had not been “adequately substantiated.”
Foie gras producers and industry groups
Most foie gras producers do not consider their methods cruel, insisting that it is a natural process exploiting the animals' natural features. Producers argue that wild ducks and geese naturally ingest large amounts of whole food and gain weight before migration. Foie gras producers also contend that geese and ducks do not have a gag reflex, and therefore do not find force feeding uncomfortable. Michael Ginor, owner of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, author of Foie Gras... A Passion, claims his birds come to him and says this is important because "a stressed or hurt bird won't eat and digest well or produce a foie gras."According to Industry groups including the CIFOG, and researchers at INRA
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
The Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique is a French public research institute dedicated to scientific studies surrounding the problems of agriculture...
, forced feeding is not a cruel procedure.
Mirepoix USA, a top provider of goose and duck foie gras, alleges that the animal rights activists attack is a form of prohibition against a cuisine item. Mirepoix claims that the use of the term "diseased" to refer to fatted liver is inaccurate and that geese and ducks naturally store dead fish in their esophagi for long periods of time.
Chefs
Chef Anthony BourdainAnthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain is an American chef, author and television personality. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.A...
and chef/writer Michael Ruhlman
Michael Ruhlman
Michael Carl Ruhlman is an American author. He has written 12 books of mostly nonfiction, the best known of which have been in collaboration with American chefs.-Personal:...
have both supported foie gras production from humanely treated, properly raised ducks, and stated that the footage seen in the videos of critics is cruel but that no reputable chef would buy such product. However other celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Johannes Puck is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, businessman and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions...
, and Albert Roux
Albert Roux
Albert Roux OBE is a French-born restaurateur and chef working in Britain. He and his brother Michel operated Le Gavroche, the first restaurant in the UK to gain three Michelin stars. He helped train a series of chefs that went on to win Michelin stars, and his son, Michel Roux, Jr...
are against the use of foie gras. Roux has argued that foie gras should come with a warning so that "people know what's being done to the animals." He states that "More humane methods should be used that allow the animal to gorge themselves naturally." Chicago chef Charlie Trotter
Charlie Trotter
Charlie Trotter is a chef and restaurateur.-Biography:A graduate of New Trier High School, Trotter started cooking professionally in 1982 after earning a degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. For the next 5 years, he worked and studied in Chicago, San Francisco at...
maintains that the production of foie gras is "too cruel to be served." However, Trotter refused to be associated with animal rights groups stating "These people are idiots. Understand my position: I have nothing to do with a group like that. I think they're pathetic."
Litigation
The controversy over foie gras has been the subject of several lawsuits. The 1985 case Lovenheim v. Iroquois Brands was a shareholder suit regarding ethical concerns about a company selling foie gras. This case set a precedent that ethical and social issues may be considered “significantly related” to a corporation’s business even if that portion of the business is economically insignificant.In 2003, the Animal Protection and Rescue League
Animal Protection and Rescue League
The Animal Protection and Rescue League is an American 501 non-profit organization that works to document and expose cruelty inflicted on animals behind closed doors, particularly in factory farms....
and In Defense of Animals filed suit against Sonoma Foie Gras in California under the state's unfair business practices law, alleging animal cruelty. The farm also sued the two groups and four activists who documented conditions at the farm for trespass. The Legislature then intervened with a law allowing the farm to continue force feeding until the year 2012, after which point both the sale and production of foie gras will be illegal in California.
In 2006, Sonoma Foie Gras sued Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
for intentional interference with contract for influencing Grimaud Farms to stop supplying ducklings and marketing for Sonoma. The suit is still pending as of February 2007.
Also pending is a 2006 lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States against the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, alleging that foie gras qualifies as an adulterated food that should not be sold.
In 2011, the Animal Legal Defense Fund
Animal Legal Defense Fund
The Animal Legal Defense Fund is an American non-profit law organization that aims to protect the rights and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. It was founded in 1979 by attorneys active in shaping the emerging field of animal law. The ALDF has campaigned for stronger...
filed a legal petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), urging that foie gras bear a consumer warning label stating “NOTICE: Foie gras products are derived from diseased birds.” Because the USDA is responsible for ensuring that poultry products are wholesome and for approving only products from healthy animals, stamping foie gras products with the USDA seal without disclosing that those products are derived from diseased birds misleads consumers, contravening the Poultry Products Inspection Act.
Europe
"Until new scientific evidence on alternative methods and their welfare aspects is available", the production of foie gras is prohibited by treaty except for "where it is current practice" among 35 countries bound by the Council of EuropeCouncil of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
's European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes.
The force feeding of animals for non-medical purposes, essential to current foie gras production practices, is explicitly prohibited by specific laws in six of nine Austrian provinces, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, or following interpretation of general animal protection laws in Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. However, Foie Gras can still be imported into and purchased in these countries.
Most of these countries aren't currently producing foie gras, nor have they been in the past. Thus, these bans have stopped actual foie gras production in very few countries.
Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
also banned the force feeding of animals on June 24, 2004 by the enactment of the Animal Protection Law No: 1/323.
Since 1997, the number of European countries producing foie gras has halved. Only five countries still produce foie gras: Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, France and Hungary.
In France, the fattening is achieved through gavage
Force-feeding
Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a person or an animal against their will. "Gavage" is supplying a nutritional substance by means of a small plastic tube passed through the nose or mouth into the stomach, not explicitly 'forcibly'....
(force-feeding) corn, according to French law. French law states that "Foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France."
United States
State of California: Sections 25980-25984 of the California Health and Safety CodeCalifornia Health and Safety Code
California Law consists of 29 codes, covering various subject areas, the State Constitution and Statutes. The California Health and Safety Code is the code covering the subject areas of health and safety.-External links:...
, enacted in 2004 and to become effective July 1, 2012, prohibit the "force feed[ing of] a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird's liver beyond normal size" as well as the sale of products that are a result of this process.
City of San Diego: On January 8, 2008, the San Diego City Council unanimously passed a resolution that "commends the Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL) for raising awareness of the cruel practice of force-feeding ducks and geese to produce foie gras, commends the many San Diego restaurants that have stopped selling foie gras before the California statewide ban goes into effect, and encourages San Diegans to avoid supporting this extreme form of animal cruelty." The resolution also cites an independent Zogby poll finding that 85% of San Diegans favor an immediate ban on foie gras.
City of Chicago: On 26 April 2006, the Chicago City Council voted to ban the sale of foie gras, effective 22 August 2006 Breaches of the ban were to be punished with fines of $250–$500. Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
Joe Moore, who proposed the ban, described the method by which foie gras is produced as "clearly animal cruelty."
In response, several Chicago chefs filed suit and deliberately violated the law by continuing to sell foie gras. Furthermore, a handful of chefs served foie gras without charge, which they considered not to be against the law. Even for establishments that were violating the law, the City issued warning letters but, until February 17, 2007, no citations were given. On that date, Doug Sohn, owner of a gourmet hot dog shop was charged with a violation. Although the fine could have been as high as $500, Sohn agreed to pay a $250 fine on March 29. Several unusual dishes, including foie gras pizza, have been created in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, in defiance of the City Council's banning of foie gras. 46,000 pounds of foie gras were sold in Chicago in 2006.
In December 2006, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
referred to the ban as "the silliest law" the City Council has ever passed. As a result of the ban, Chicago restaurants Spiaggia and Tru developed dishes designed to simulate the foie gras experience. Chicago Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vettel found Tru's "Faux Gras" "close to the real thing", and Spiaggia's "terrina
Terrine (food)
A terrine is a French forcemeat loaf similar to a pâté, made with more coarsely chopped ingredients. Terrines are usually served cold or at room temperature.- See also :* Terrine , the cooking vessel* Pâté* Galantine* Mousseline...
de fagato grasso vegetariano" "undeniably rich and indulgent", but "[lacking] the characteristic foie-gras intensity".
In response to Mayor Daley's objections on the foie gras ban, the City Council overwhelmingly repealed Chicago's ban on May 14, 2008.
Argentina
Foie gras production is illegal in Argentina as a mistreatment or act of cruelty to animals.Israel
In August 2003, the Supreme Court of IsraelSupreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
ordered the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture to ban the force feeding of geese, effective 31 March 2005. The last appeal was withdrawn in October 2005, but the law was left unenforced until February 2006. Most protest activities were conducted by the Anonymous for Animal Rights
Anonymous for Animal Rights
Anonymous for Animal Rights is an animal rights group based in Israel.It focuses on several animal rights issues: the consumption of meat and animal source foods, using animals for clothing and entertainment, and animal testing. The group started organizing protests in the 1990s and became formally...
organization, which also tracks the enforcement of the ban, and files complaints against farms that conduct illegal force feeding.
External links
- The Controversy Over Foie Gras – Does a Duck have a Soul? How foie gras became the new fur.
- Report of the EU Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare on Welfare Aspects of the Production of Foie Gras in Ducks and Geese
- Alan Solomon Amyloidogenic potential of foie gras — PNAS Pnas.org Retrieved 2010-05-14
- Mark Caro The Foie Gras Wars: How a 5,000-Year-Old Delicacy Inspired the World's Fiercest Food Fight 2009, Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 2010-05-26