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Ducking
It Out
The Debate On Foie Gras
By Nicole Niebisch, with Amy Tarr
Last July, Laurent Manrique, the chef of the renowned San Francisco
restaurant Aqua, received a disturbing videotape in his mailbox.
It contained footage shot from within his garden of his family relaxing
at their Sonoma County home in Northern California. The video was
followed by threatening notes that stated he and his family were
being watched. That summer Manrique’s business partner, Didier
Jaubert, was also the victim of what he considers a hate crime.
The perpetrators glued the locks of his front door shut and spray
painted his home and car with slogans such as, "Foie gras is
animal torture" and "Murderer."[1]
Manrique and Jaubert had recently partnered with
local farmer Guillermo Gonzalez on a specialty food store and restaurant
called Sonoma Saveurs, which features locally made artisanal products.
Two weeks before its scheduled opening in October, Sonoma Saveurs
was vandalized, with an estimated $60,000 worth of damage. But scare
tactics and financial setbacks did not stop the partners from opening
their doors for business in mid-October. And the events certainly
didn’t stop them from offering on their menu the single item,
produced by Gonzalez, that was responsible for these crimes carried
out by animal rights extremists: foie gras.[2]
The California State government may ultimately
take responsibility for gluing the locks of Sonoma Saveurs and Gonzalez's
family farm, Sonoma Foie Gras, shut for good. This past March, California
State Sen. John Burton (D-San Francisco), Senate President pro Tempore,
introduced SB 1520. If passed, the measure would ban the production
and sale of foie gras in California. It would not, however, ban
the sale of foie gras made elsewhere. Similar legislation has been
proposed in New York State, the only other state in the US where
it is produced, bringing the foie gras debate to a head among chefs
and restaurateurs, animal rights activists, and consumers about
the ethical treatment of animals, farming practices, and freedom
of choice.
FOIE FACTS
According to an independent research report prepared for the Sullivan
County foie gras Producers (the county in which the two New York
State foie gras producers are located), America’s appetite
for foie gras is increasing as the nation’s culinary sophistication
and interest in fine dining grows. Over the last 20 years foie gras
production has grown from virtually nothing in the US to 340 tons
in 2003. US foie gras sales from producers were $17.5 million in
2003. New York producers accounted for over 71% of the sales, California
16%; France 7% and Canada 6%. Thomas J. Shepstone, who spearheaded
the NY State research report, estimates that about 95% of the sales
are to restaurants, with the remaining 5% to distributors and individuals.
In New York City, 33 of the city’s Zagat-rated “Top
50 Food” restaurants serve foie gras. While foie gras seems
to be ubiquitous in fine restaurants these days, total US consumption
of this delicacy amounts to only 420 tons per year, a small fraction
of France’s annual consumption of more than 17, 500 tons.[3]
FOWL PLAY
PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and other animal
rights activist groups such as GourmetCruelty.com are dedicated
to stopping the production and sale of foie gras in California and
New York. Foie gras, which translates to "fat liver,"
is made by force-feeding geese or ducks two to three times per day
during the last two weeks of their lives through a tube placed down
their throats. PETA's website (www.peta.org) asserts, "the
goal is to enlarge the animal's liver up to ten times its normal
size" and that, "many birds become too sick to walk."
These groups contend that the force-feeding process, along with
confinement in small cages, causes suffering to these animals that
is worse than practices used in industrial chicken and cattle farming.
"It's pretty much widely recognized as the worst form of animal
farming," said PETA's Dan Shannon. "Most people who learn
about the process never eat foie gras again."[4]
In Israel, which has a substantial foie gras industry, the Supreme
Court recently ruled that the force-feeding of ducks and geese violates
laws against animal cruelty. A number of other European countries
have also instituted such a ban stemming from the findings of a
1998 report released by the European Union's Scientific Committee
on Animal Health and Welfare. According to the report, injuries
and health problems are common at foie gras farms. It concluded
that, "force-feeding, as currently practiced, is detrimental
to the welfare of these birds."
FREEDOM FARMS
Proponents of foie gras point out that this traditional French dish
has been produced by a number of cultures for over 4,000 years.
Force-feeding began in ancient Egypt in 2390 B.C. to produce plumper
geese.[5] The process is
designed to mimic the gorging that ducks and geese do naturally
in preparation for migration.
Many artisan farms such as Gonzalez's Sonoma Foie
Gras go to great lengths to minimize distress to their birds in
the feeding process. Gonzalez says he aspires to set the industry
standard for the humane treatment of these animals. While in most
French industrial farms the feeding process usually takes place
between 11 and 13 days, Gonzalez stretches the period out to 17
days.[6]
Francine Bradley, a poultry specialist at University
of California Cooperative Extension at UC Davis commends Gonzales
on his methods. "From the beginning [he] wanted to do everything
the correct way. They came to the university for advice before they
bought their land and birds, and I've always been impressed with
the great care they take with their birds."[7]
Bradley associates part of the outcry to foie gras with a lack of
awareness among urban Americans of what is required in making food.
“You have people making decisions about food production based
on a concept of animals which comes out of Disney," she says.[8]
She also speculates that those who are uncomfortable with the force-feeding
process would be equally shocked if they ever saw large fish being
swallowed whole by shorebirds.
Another defender of Sonoma Foie Gras is Ken Frank,
chef and owner of La Torque in Napa Valley, who is a self-proclaimed
animal lover and widely recognized in the industry as an advocate
of humane agriculture. "I flew to northern California to watch
the ducks at Sonoma Foie Gras," he said. "I've been there
several times since. I didn't see any cruelty. I didn't see any
suffering animals. I actually saw animals lining up to eat. These
were happy ducks."[9]
At Hudson Valley Foie Gras in New York State, the
leading domestic producer of duck products, co-owner Michael Ginor
also assures that his animals are well taken care of. His facility
feeds the ducks by hand "the old fashioned way," using
a plastic funnel and not a mechanical pump. He also says that for
the last three weeks of their lives the birds are housed in 24 square-foot
cages with ten ducks per cage, not individual cages where they cannot
spread their wings. New York State Assemblyman Jack McEneny, who
sponsored one of the foie gras bills, has never witnessed the force-feeding,
although he has been invited to Hudson Valley Foie Gras.[10]
While the ducks may be happy, others at Hudson
Valley Foie Gras are not. To further complicate this debate, the
80 or so feeders at the farm, all Mexican immigrants, complain that
they are required to work 30 days in a row, because if they took
a day off, the feeding process would be disrupted and the ducks
would become stressed, ultimately impacting the quality and flavor
of the foie gras. Izzy Yanay, Ginor’s partner at Hudson Valley
Foie Gras, cites that producers in France, Hungary and Israel conducted
experiments with backup feeders and concluded that they negatively
affected the quantity and quality of the foie gras.[11]
A TOUGH ACT TO SWALLOW
It is not exactly clear how the ethics of foie gras production gained
enough momentum to find its way to Sacramento. Compared to other
forms of animal farming, domestic foie gras production is so limited
it is considered more of a hands-on, custom product. To put things
in perspective, there are only three US-based firms that produce
Foie Gras - Sonoma Foie Gras in California, and Hudson Valley Foie
Gras and La Belle Farm - both in New York State. Many chefs and
restaurateurs, who must constantly make decisions about what to
offer on their menus and where to buy their products, believe that
a focus on foie gras obscures the bigger issues of health concerns
and animal cruelty in industrial pig, chicken, egg, and cattle farming.
Ginor believes that foie gras production is "an easy target"
for animal rights activists.[12]
In the US, it is generally regarded as an unhealthy, expensive delicacy
enjoyed primarily by the rich.
Sponsors of bill SB 1520 believe the issue boils
down to public awareness and education. Teri Barnato, national director
for the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, based in
Davis, California said, "If the public knew they were purchasing
a diseased part of the animal, or of the cruelty involved, they
wouldn't buy foie gras."[13]
On May 18, the California Senate voted by a margin of 21-14 in support
of SB1520 to outlaw foie gras production in California. The bill
now goes to the State Assembly.
With his livelihood at stake, Gonzalez is equally
committed to educating legislators and the public about foie gras
production. "As this bill goes through the process," he
said, " I hope that common sense will prevail, that legislators
will listen to the facts and not emotions."[14]
For many food lovers this bill is considered an
infringement on the freedom to choose what you put on your plate.
Dan Scherotter, chef at Palio d'Asti in San Francisco said he added
foie gras to his menu in response to the attacks on Laurent Manrique
and his partners. "If you don't like foie gras, don't order
it. But don't attack the chef who offers it on his menu."[15]
Clearly no one, whether a duck, a goose, a food
lover or an animal lover, is comfortable having something shoved
down one's throat. Will the legislation in California and New York
spell the end of foie gras production in the US? Ought it? What
do you think, chefs? Should you keep foie gras on your menu or is
it time to take it off?
Let the debate begin.
1L.
Alley, “Foie Gras Flap Prompts San Francisco Chefs to Reexamine
Menus,” Wine Spectator, September 04, 2003.
2Ibid.
3T.J.
Shepstone, “The Economic Importance of the New York State
Foie Gras Industry,” March 2004.
4T.
Weihman, “American Foie Gras Now Makes The Grade,” Columbia
News Services, May 23, 2003.
5H.
McKenna, “Friends Turn Foie Gras from Passion to Business,”
Reuters, June 17, 2004.
6L.
Alley, “California, New York Legislators Propose Foie Gras
Ban,” Wine Spectator, February 24, 2004.
7L.
Alley, “Foie Gras Flap Prompts San Francisco Chefs to Reexamine
Menus,” Wine Spectator, September 04, 2003.
8M.
Locke, “A Foie Gras Food Fight-animal rights groups campaign
to close California producer,” Associated Press, December
25, 2003.
9L.
Alley, “California, New York Legislators Propose Foie Gras
Ban,” Wine Spectator, February 24, 2004.
10H.
McKenna, “Friends Turn Foie Gras from Passion to Business,”
Reuters, June 17, 2004.
11S.
Greenhouse, “No Days Off at Foie Gras Farm,” The New
York Times, April 2, 2001.
12L.
Alley, “California, New York Legislators Propose Foie Gras
Ban,” Wine Spectator, February 24, 2004.
13Ibid.
14Ibid.
15L.
Alley, “Foie Gras Flap Prompts San Francisco Chefs to Reexamine
Menus,” Wine Spectator, September 04, 2003. |