The Foie Gras Fight: Animal Cruelty or Animal Rights Propaganda?

Chicago tried banning it. Now California wants to do the same. But what's so controversial about foie gras, the fattened liver of a duck or goose that many diners consider a delicacy?

"Foie gras is universally cruel," says animal rights activist and founder of the Animal Protection and Rescue League Bryan Pease.

Pease led the fight against foie gras in California, which often got ugly and scary, but he feels that it was all worth it now that the ban on the production of the food product will go into effect this summer.

"This isn't a product that anyone thinks should be consumed, really," says Pease, "except for a small group of chefs and promoters."

Mark Pastore, owner of Incanto restaurant in San Francsico, believes that animal activists, who have threatened him and Incanto's chef Chris Cosentino, bullied their way into a legislative victory through intimidation and inflated rhetoric.

"I believe that the only way to deal with bullying tactics is to stand up to them," says Pastore, who started serving foie gras after his fellow chef had acid thrown on his car and received a threatening video of his family and notes reading "stop or be stopped" from anti-foie gras activists.

So is the process of force-feeding ducks to produce foie gras cruel, as Pease alleges? Not so, says lawyer and director of Keep Food Legal Baylen Linnekin.

"Foie gras is not the result of cruel practice," says Linnekin. "It's a bird that can digest or can swallow a fish whole--a large fish." He also points out that ducks and geese are migratory birds that gorge themselves on food in nature before a winter migration, which is how foie gras, a dish dating back to ancient Egypt, came about in the first place.

The animal activists seem have won the California foie gras fight for now, but Linnekin says that in the wake of the overturned Chicago ban, he's still optimistic about the future of food freedom.

"Ultimately, choice trumps," says Linnekin. "It should, and it does. Individual rights are the most important things we have as Americans."

Written and produced by Zach Weissmueller. Camera by Christopher Sharif Matar and Zach Weissmueller.

Approximately 6 minutes.

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[tangkag879]

They're slowly killed! Making an animal suffer is cruel!

[yamosuki]

At the 3:30 part of the video... They went into the farms at night.. without permission.. the activist doesn't think its a break in.. /facepalm. Nigga thats trespassing.

[scheindler list]

Stupid french,

[starrecipe9]

That's the #1 reason I don't like it. I don't know if it's painful for them. If I had to guess, I would say it probably is. However, I don't think I need to prove that it is. It doesn't seem ethical to me at all to do something under the assumption that it isn't really painful when it really could be, and likely is.

The other thing is suffering that isn't just pain, like anxiety and restlessness. Until we somehow prove an animal isn't suffering greatly, we shouldn't do awful things to it.

[XxDarkmasterxXx]

Lol yea in other words he thinks murder and torture are on the same moral level...haha what a fucking twat he is.

[XxDarkmasterxXx]

Obviously you're retarded considering you compared a humans organs to a goose/duck's and said "The fact that you can't seem to prove your "point" without throwing out F bombs shows your intelligence level" but to be honest I do think it should it should be shut down altogether considering it just gets out the wrong message and destroys moral. (I don't eat goose liver I eat pig liver which is naturally big.

[ratchet826]

Where are you getting your facts? You have no idea what those birds are feeling. Perhaps put your heart back in your chest, and do some more research.  The fact that you can't seem to prove your "point" without throwing out F bombs shows your intelligence level. It does harm them. It's fattening their liver. Have you ever had liver problems? It is VERY painful. There is no reason for factory farming. If it were up to me, they'd all go down. Animals feel just the same as YOU & ME.

[Aangbabe]

Now, wouldn't that be nice? Nothing better than actually use the two hands you were given to make a home worth living.

[alvincrew]

But this is the modern world. Going with your logic, then people should also build their own furnitures, make their own medicine, build their own houses and mine their own raw materials to do all the aforthmentioned?

[slgaringer1211]

If I were to agree it isn't as tortuous as we may think the real issue seems to be the containment of the birds. they have NO access to water and they need water. They have no space to spread their wings or ever fly. THAT is abusive and these lovely little creatures need space and care. All animals need care. It's diseased liver we are eating. let's keep it simple

[Aangbabe]

Meat is murder; doesn't matter how you do it. Foie Gras along with your regular slaughterhouse should be banned. If people want to eat meat, they should have to kill it themselves. If this was the case, most people would become vegetarian, as killing another being is usually sickening for normal people.