Foie gras back on the menu in California after court ruling

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Christopher Weber, Associated Press
Updated 6:54 pm CDT, Tuesday, July 14, 2020

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Foie gras is back on the menu in California after a federal judge overturned a ban and ruled the health code doesn't prevent the rich dish from being brought in from out of state.

California's ban on the delicacy, the fattened liver of a duck or goose, was challenged in court by out-of-state foie gras producers who said they lost nearly one-third of their total sales when the prohibition took effect.

A federal appeals court eventually upheld the prohibition. But on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson decided for the plaintiffs, which include farmers in Canada and New York and a restaurant. They had challenged part of the law that banned liver produced out of state from being sold.

Wilson ruled the sale of foie gras doesn't violate the law if the seller is located outside of California and the product is given to a third-party delivery service and brought into the state.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/Foie-gras-back-on-the-menu-in-California-after-15408319.php

[Mr.Bill]

1. This is disgusting.

I won't spend money at a restaurant that serves it.

[Coventina]

2. Gross and inhumane.

[lagomorph777]

12. Gross and inhumane - my exact words.

I became a vegan the day I saw how they force-feed geese. It will give you nightmares.

[Coventina]

14. Agreed. n/t

[I_UndergroundPanther]

3. Rich people

Gotta have thier fancy shit..
Even though it's inhumane cruel and disgusting.

I hate rich people who have no soul.

Force feed them to death.

[Xolodno]

4. Not like the law was working much....

...if you were in the "know", you could order it as an off menu item. Numerous ways to subvert the law....and virtually no enforcement.

[Merlot]

5. Still better to have the law than not.

[Xolodno]

7. I disagree.

Mexico has some serious stringent environmental laws....even more than US Laws....

Enforcement on the other hand...that's a very different story.

All the law does, is give a politician a talking point, nothing more....while the practice continues.

Better to not have it, and make it a social disgust like Veal.

And to really to drive it home....tax the shit out of it. Make it seriously financially expensive for restaurants to purchase...enough to make them nervous, that if they don't sell all of it, they take a nice hit to the food budget. And given restaurants already operate with a low profit margin....most won't take that risk.

There will still be places you can purchase it, but it will hit your pocket book. Add to that, makes it a heck of a lot easier for protesters to target, take photos of people who show up, etc.

Prohibition never works. Make it socially unacceptable, costly, etc. Then you're going places.

[Bayard]

6. I've never figured out why this doesn't violate animal cruelty laws

Like veal. You drive past these big farms in the Central Valley, and you see cages with little calves in them, right out front. Cages that are so small, the animal can't even move. Why? Because that's how you get tender veal. More torture and animal cruelty.

Disgusting.

[CatLady78]

10. I know - the cruelty is horrific and saddening

Last edited Mon Jul 20, 2020, 04:07 AM - Edit history (1)

Actually this is why I am vegetarian..I cannot endorse cruelty on this scale. It has less to do with climate change than the horrific cruelty of the animal industry.

[truthisfreedom]

8. As far as I know there's only three foie gras sources left in the US.

I live by one. Those are the happiest birds I’ve ever met. I doubt any of you know anything factual about foie gras.

[GulfCoast66]

11. I agree and have actually been on a farm in France that raised geese for it.

But I generally don’t get too involved in these types of threads. There are too many strong disagreements to allow any polite conversation.

[lagomorph777]

13. I saw how it's done. It's horrifying.

[Coventina]

15. How about we force-feed you until your liver is so fatty it can't function properly? n/t

[BuddhaGirl]

16. +1

n/t

[CatLady78]

9. Most unfortunate

It isn't just foie gras. There are many practices in the animal industry-especially those involved in factory farming that have to be stringently regulated or even abolished.