Foie Gras Sales Banned in California

Starting July 2012 the sale of foie gras will be illegal in California. Foie gras, french for “fatty liver”, is a kind of fattened duck liver considered a delicacy by many. It has been banned in many countries around the world because of the process required to make it. Ducks and geese that are raised for foie gras are force fed multiple times a day so that their liver swells up to 10 times its normal size.

The New York Times published an article last month describing a protest dinner that occurred in Los Angeles. The dinner, served at the restaurant Animal, consisted of eight courses, all featuring a different form of foie gras, and cost $175 a head. There were 320 available spots that sold out in 16 minutes.

Various animal rights activists showed up to protest outside the restaurant, but most viewed the dinner as a harmless motion. One of the owners of Animal is quoted in the article as saying, “This ban has already gone into effect. Our one dinner is not going to make it turn around.” The dinner was more intended as a last effort to enjoy the delicacy before it becomes illegal.

Paul Shapiro, senior director of farm animal protection for the Humane Society, recently posted an article on The Atlantic’s website attacking the New York Times article. Shapiro’s pieced was titled “The Animals that Love Pain: How Factory Farming Explains Abuse”, and in it he criticizes the New York Times article for claiming that the ducks and geese actually enjoy being force fed. He posts a link to a video of ducks on a foie gras farm running from their feeders and quotes a worker from a foie gras farm as describing the birds as “huddled in the corner of the pen”. He also notes that multiple other countries have banned the food because of the inhumanity involved in its production.


I think Shapiro’s piece is a bit of an overreaction. He is only responding to one quote in the New York Times article and he takes it out of its broader context. He is also very biased in his argument. This isn’t surprising, given his background, but it does weaken his credibility.

In another article posted on the Huffington Post, Brad Haskel defends foie gras. He explains that ducks and geese naturally have livers that are prone to expansion, and that their throats are not damaged at all by force feeding. He also notes that, just like any other type of animal product, its important to buy foie gras from ethical and responsible producers. It may have been better to create a law regulating the treatment of geese and ducks, rather than banning foie gras completely. Shapiro should have taken these arguments into account when writing his article. Instead, his article is easily dismissed as an extremist rant.

Regardless of these arguments, however, the ban in California will go into effect in July. Historically, California has been more progressive than other states in regulating meat products. A law was signed recently banning the sale of shark fin soup, and a Santa Monica restaurant was shut down over the summer for serving whale meat. Given this history, the decision to ban foie gras is not surprising. It could also be a step in the direction of setting higher animal welfare standards. It will be interesting to see whether California moves on to regulating the treatment of other farms animals as well.


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