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“French Foie Gras banned in California. Yes, we are against force-feeding.”
So California has put their moral foot down against foie gras, or I suppose more accurately against the stuffing of food down a duck’s throat.
Ten days ago California enforced their ban on foie gras, The Bird Feeding Law. As of July 1, anyone who wants to eat the French delicacy will have to fly over here to Paris or hop on a plane to another state like New York where the duck liver specialty is still an acceptable food choice.
California has always seemed to me to be a very liberal state. Liberal in the small ‘L’ sense of keen on renewable energy, Birkenstocks, Whole Foods and, funny enough, the exact opposite of the image conjured up by abundance-in-all Hollywood with its onslaught of concrete and stucco. So I wasn’t surprised when the ban came down. The French were a little more suspect.
One French commentator drew a sharp criticism against California’s moral platform: “La Californie interdit le foie gras par respect des oies et canards. Ne reste que à penser à y abolir la peine de mort.” In English that translates to “California banned foie gras on account of respecting geese and ducks. All that is left is to think of abolishing the death penalty.
Indeed. Given that supporters of the law base their claims on morality, it does seem a little hypocritical to put a duck’s life before a fellow human’s. On the other hand, given the political elements, are these two even comparable?
Factory farming
I understand that people want to protect animals. We are, after all, the stronger species. I was a vegan for 7 years during my teens and early twenties for those exact reasons. I read a book called Diet for a New American by Tim Robbins, the heir to the Basket Robbins ice cream fortune when I was 13 and it changed my whole life. If American are really worried about animals, I think there are other practices of animal cruelty to consider: take regular old chickens, pigs and cows, for instance. Mass industrial farming and production can be as inhumane as anything you could imagine.
French people from the region on Gers, in the south of France, threatened that if California boycotts French foie gras then they will boycott Californian wine.
“California bans foie gras in the name of animal well-being… only I have the right to force-feed the cows…”
Even still, other French people have gotten rather down and dirty about American tendencies to over eat and to “stuff” themselves.
I’ve taken a bit of heat myself for this whole situation. Since our marriage, my husband has gained a few pounds. Our French friends like to blame it on me and my American habits of serving too much food. The fact that he quit smoking just before the wedding doesn’t seem to enter into their calculations. So I just laugh off the slurs.
Apparently, the problem is the practice of “gavage” or the force feeding of ducks and geese which is how foie gras is made. I recently did a mini-documentary on this subject here in France and my impression of the methods used by traditional duck and foie gras farmers changed my American perceptions and sensibilities about foie gras.
I’ll leave the morality up to you:
I have always felt that people should use their consumer power for some good. So for those of you who are ardently against foie gras, don’t buy it. But restricting others who do not hold the same views seems a draconian move to me. Then again, as I said above, I saw firsthand the treatment of these animals while filming my video and interviewing the people who take care of them, and I can tell you for certain that the animals are as unhappy being force-fed as I was in my teens stuffing my face with fries and nuggets at McDonalds.
To each his own? At least it’s food for thought.
It reminds me a bit of my grandmother with her chickens – after cutting the head off she would dunk the bird in almost-boiling water so she could pluck the feathers. (And then we would eat it for dinner.) Not exactly pretty, but if you eat meat this is reality.
So true. One of the things I noticed most about meat when I came to France is that the French are fully knowledgable about where their meat comes from and the animals behind the cuts they find in the stores or markets. I find many of us in the States, me included a few years ago, are so divorced from the realities of animal to meat, having hardly ever seeing unprocessed meat in the grocery store, that the realities shock us. It’s healthier to understand and appreciate the whole process from the beginning.
I found your previous report on how foie gras is made to be very interesting and the farm you visited seemed to be a healthy operation, as are many family farms. I’m opposed to industrialized farming because, as you say, the animals on those farms live in horrible conditions, unlike the geese on the family farm from your video. I know they mean well, but I wish animal lovers could understand the difference. I think they’ve gone after the wrong problem.
Thank you Shary. I’m with you on that.
I’m a liberal Californian who’s disappointed in this ridiculous law. With all the problems there are in this state, this law shouldn’t warrant the paper it was printed on. I’ve seen the “foie gras” geese in France and their quality of life was by far better than most chickens and cattle raised here in the US.
I totally agree with you!
I recently watched a TED talk on foie gras. The speaker talked about a “farmer” in Spain who is getting it without gravage by having a lush environment for the geese. I can’t remember enough to explain all of the ins and outs, but it seemed like a good alternative.
I think the traditional, organic, back-to-basics ways of producing both agriculture and livestock is a healthier way to proceed. We seem to have gotten away from ourselves with ‘bigger, better, more’ and more and more. ‘Enough’ works just fine for me! Thanks for your thoughts, Emily.
ce n,est pas si grave, temps que nos amis américains nous laissent manger du fois gras en France.Plus sérieusement nous vendons très peut de fois gras français en Amérique.Le problème ce sera pour les producteurs Américains .J,ai donc décidé en représailles d,appeler mon fois gras de FOIS GRAS freedom
Vive la liberté et le style de vie des Français!
As another Californian, the high-and-mightiness of this law drives me crazy as our country continues to amass more and more guns in the hands of private individuals and pass crazy laws to carry them in churches, state parks, et al. Maybe that’s not quite a tit-for-tat, but there’s something just way off-balance going on here.
I get the feeling a great deal of fellow Americans find this law as hypocritical, or at least misplaced and mistimed, as the French. Thanks for your comment.
I’m from California. With ALL the problems our state faces, THIS is the one the lawmakers focus on? How about tackling unemployment and the economy first?!?!
Hear, hear!
Being a man of modest means (saying that makes me chuckle) I’ve always considered foods like foie gras to be richie foods. In other words, foods rich people eat, and being a meat and potatoes kind of guy, I’ve never understood the attraction rich people have to some of the crap they eat, other than that it is expensive and the rest of us would never be able to afford to eat like them. Personally, the only way I’d eat foie gras is if you did stuff it down my throat. I do have a problem, though, when any government tells me what I can and can’t do and I am a liberal in the American sense of the word.
I agree with you there, liberal in the liberty sense!
No one should force their views on anyone else. Period.
What is it about us Americans that we think we’re so much better than everyone else?? (And half of the country think they’re better than the other half.) Will it ever end?
Paris is one of my favorite places in the world but I have to say that oftentimes I’m embarrassed and ashamed by the actions and the attitudes of my fellow Americans while traveling.
Thanks for this post.
You touch on an interesting point: having grown up in the South, I understand what you mean by the (somewhat) divided country. I’m not sure that will ever end, to be honest. I think human nature leads us to create ‘us and them’, ‘right and wrong’ divisions. Our best bet, I think, is to cultivate as much tolerance and good ol’ fashion manners as possible. Thanks for your thoughts.
Chicago banned fois gras and then repealed the ban 2 years later. I wouldn’t expect the California law to stand long…or at least not to be enforced.
I suspect that McDonald’s is working on their own foie gras. I can see it now “foie gras nuggets” Deep fried in a flour based batter and served with duck sauce. Okay you can stop puking now.
I agree with your views on a draconian move of banning foie gras by animal activists. But banning California wine? Do the french really consume that much California wine when they have so many great wines of their own? Now Banning McDonalds would be a much better move.
The French drink very little California wine. Probably less than Californians eat French foie gras. McDo, as its called here, on the other hand, has caught on in France, which is depressing. Although the fast food culture in general is still at bay, for now.
Okay, there’s hope.
Madame, well said. California is an odd place: it’s morally wrong to force feed geese but not to ban two people who love one another from making a legal commitment. Go figure.
I love this! As an American (I’m sure you can relate since you’re from here as well), I’m incredibly embarassed about the fact that many people here don’t care about important issues: human life, health, etc, and instead indulge in whatever trendy whim is popular while stuffing BigMacs into their mouths. I hate to image what people from around the world think about our country, even though not everyone here acts irresponsibly. Cheers to you!
Very true, well said. It always seems to be the silly few who give a bad name to all. Unfortunately. But it looks like, for the foie gras ban at least, the courts may take a positive stand. Take care, and thanks for dropping by!
The cartoon with the ducks on the motorcycle was a hoot. The Ronald McDonald cartoon was sad, but hilarious. The fact that the U.S. justice system bends to accommodate activist groups (backed by dollars) is downright hysterical — in the true meaning of the word. What they’ve ultimately done is taken away a choice. What next?