Foie Gras

WHAT THE FOIE GRAS French chefs can't fathom why California banned foie gras, and a growing number of French politicians feel the same way. France doesn't export fatty duck liver to the U.S., but officials have started speaking out against the law, fearing that similar restrictions will spread to Europe. [ Los Angeles Times ] U.N. AIR-DROPS FOOD IN SUDAN The United Nations air-dropped 32 tons of food to refugees on the south Sudan border in an effort to quickly get food to tens of thousands of people who have been forced out of Sudan by fighting and hunger.

At a farm in southwest France, the president of France took a stand for one of his nation's most indulgent exports: foie gras. The delicacy, made from the fatty livers of force-fed ducks and geese, has been banned in California since July 1. Animal rights activists say foie gras production requires cruel treatment of the fowl; restaurateurs say the extravagant and expensive treat is a key component of their culinary repertoire. But this week, President Francois Hollande vowed that he “would not let foie gras exports be jeopardized, especially in certain countries, or certain states in America,” according to the Independent , a British publication.

Animal advocacy group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter Wednesday morning to Hot's Restaurant Group asking the Hermosa Beach eatery to “swear off foie gras for good.”   In the missive, PETA said it investigated Palmex Inc., the Canadian farm it says supplies Rougie brand foie gras to Hot's, and found inhumane treatment of ducks. California's ban on selling the fattened duck or goose liver went into effect July 1. Restaurateurs say foie gras is a delicacy crucial to maintaining culinary credibility.

In 2004, California enacted a law I wrote that gave the foie gras industry until July 2012 to find an alternative to force-feeding ducks. That deadline is fast approaching. Foie gras, French for "fatty liver," is produced from the diseased and grossly enlarged liver of a duck or goose that has been force-fed grain. Multiple times each day for several weeks before slaughter, a pipe is shoved down the birds' throats and they're pumped full of mash, causing their livers to swell to more than 10 times normal size.

The sale and purchase of foie gras has been illegal in California since July 1, but a couple of Orange County chefs say they have found a legal way to continue serving the French delicacy. Noah Blom of Arc in Costa Mesa and Amar Santana of Broadway by Amar Santana in Laguna Beach are drawing the ire of the animal rights group PETA for serving fattened duck liver. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has sent letters to the chefs threatening legal action. Santana was offering customers a glass of wine for $55, with a free side of foie gras.

California's ban on the sale of foie gras can remain in effect while producers of the delicacy made from the livers of force-fed ducks challenge the constitutionality of the law, a federal judge said. U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson at a hearing in Los Angeles denied the request by Canadian and American foie gras producers for an order to halt enforcement of the law that went into effect July 1. Wilson said Wednesday he would explain his reasons in a written ruling later. The ban on foie gras, French for "fat liver," was signed into law in 2004 by then-Gov.

One of two restaurant owners threatened with legal action by animal rights activists has decided to stop serving foie gras. Broadway by Amar Santana in Laguna Beach will no longer dish up fattened duck liver as a complementary side to a $55 glass of wine. “We're calling it quits,” Ahmed Labbate, Amar Santana's partner and director of operations at Broadway, said Friday. “I wish I had the money to fight PETA, but we don't. We're a small restaurant and we don't have the means.” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had sent each chef a letter in early April threatening legal action if the restaurants didn't stop serving foie gras.

The Smithsonian Institution canceled a celebration of foie gras--a delicacy produced by the forced feeding of ducks and geese--in the nation's capital after complaints from animal rights advocates, including Sir John Gielgud, the British Shakespearean actor. The program, "Foie Gras: A Gourmet's Passion," had been scheduled for Sept. 21 to include a talk by Michael Ginor, whose Hudson Valley farm in Ferndale, N.Y., makes the product.

Taking aim at California's pioneering efforts to bolster animal safety, the House Agriculture Committee has moved to block states from imposing their own standards for agriculture products on producers from other states. That could jeopardize California laws to protect chickens as well as one to ban foie gras, which took effect this month.  The panel's amendment to the farm bill was a response to a California law, which will take effect in 2015, that requires that all eggs sold in the state be produced by hens held in cages big enough to allow the chickens to stand and spread their wings.

An animal-rights group has sent letters threatening legal action against two Orange County chefs who continue to serve foie gras. The chefs serve fattened duck liver at Arc in Costa Mesa and Broadway by Amar Santana in Laguna Beach, drawing the ire of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. California banned the sale and purchase of fattened duck liver on July 1, but chefs Noah Blom of Arc and Santana found what they believe are legal ways to continue serving the French delicacy.