Animal Rights Activists and Gourmet Chefs Argue over Foie Gras

Just a few days ago, California's high official issued a ban on foie gras, arguing that this delicacy goes against animal rights. Naturally, gourmet chefs and duck farm owners now filled a lawsuit against this ban, in an attempt to keep the dish on restaurant menus.

For those unaware, foie gras is made from either duck or goose liver. However, in order to get the recipe right, the birds must be specially fattened. This is usually done by force feeding them through a tube that goes all the way into their stomachs.

It is not difficult to guess that animal rights activists not only look down on this practice, but also condemn it most of the times and wish to see it outlawed.

Thus, the news that Californian legislators took it to themselves to do just this must have come as a pleasant surprise for said environmentalists and conservationists.

However, it now seems that those working in the food industry – gourmet chefs and duck or goose farm owners, in particular – have rallied up and filled a lawsuit against the Californian state.

Their main argument is that the foie gras ban is vague, in the sense that it is impossible to figure out what it is exactly that force feeding a bird means.

On the basis on this rationale, they declared that they have absolutely no intention of giving up on this practice, especially given the fact that a six-course menu based on this gourmet dish sells for about $150 (roughly €120).

Huffington Post reports that, although it is quite unlikely that those continuing to force feed the afore-mentioned birds in order to fatten up their liver will have to face jail time for their breaking the ban, odds are that they will have to pay considerable amounts of money.

The same source speaks of penalties of up to $1,000 (approximately €800).

From where we stand, in spite of the fact that animal rights activists do indeed have a point when asking farm owners to quit force feeding the birds in this cruel manner, it is highly unlikely that the foie gras ban will be strictly enforced by local and national authorities.