SONOMA, Calif. — A gastronomic war has erupted in this sleepy wine-country city over foie gras, a staple of haute cuisine that some see as a delicacy and others consider a symbol of animal cruelty.
Over the last month, animal rights advocates who object to the methods used to produce foie gras -- the fattened liver of a force-fed duck or goose -- have vandalized two homes, including one owned by well-known San Francisco chef Laurent Manrique, and have caused a flood in a 19th century adobe building, the oldest commercial structure in Sonoma.
The incidents are being investigated by law enforcement officials in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties and by the FBI.
At issue is Sonoma Saveurs, a yet-to-open bistro in the adobe building that plans to offer, among many other items, foie gras -- French for "fat liver."
Critics, including the American Humane Society, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and underground organizations such as the Animal Liberation Front, say producing foie gras involves "animal torture."
The Web site of Bite Back, an animal rights magazine that printed two of the restaurant partners' home addresses, posted statements -- "received anonymously" -- attributing the vandalism at the homes to "concerned citizens" and the flooding to "individuals horrified at the torture of ducks." One statement says: "We cannot let this restaurant open."
Sonoma Police Chief John Gurney, who described the attacks as a "sophisticated campaign of domestic terrorism," said: "They're trying to impose their beliefs on others through the use of force, fear and intimidation."
Gurney said that more attacks are "quite possible." One of the Web sites includes a statement that "the addresses and phone numbers of several people involved in the restaurant project were discovered" in the bistro attack.
Sonoma Saveurs is owned by Manrique, the French-born executive chef of San Francisco's and Las Vegas' Aqua restaurants, and two partners -- Guillermo Gonzalez, a Salvadoran immigrant who pioneered foie gras production on the West Coast, and French businessman Didier Jaubert.
Jaubert's home in Santa Rosa and Manrique's home in Mill Valley were vandalized two days apart in late July. In each case, the vandals put glue in keyholes and left messages painted in red throughout, including "End animal torture" and "Stop or be stopped."
