Vegetarians in Paradise

Vegetarian Essays/Vegan Essays


The Cruelties of Foie Gras;
Its History in California

By Jessica Loticus


Jessica Loticus is a grad student, vegan, animal rights advocate, and environmentalist. She is an aspiring journalist and loves rock climbing, camping, hiking, and spending time with her three dogs.

Foie gras is a foreign specialty and a big favorite of many restaurant-goers, and because it is rather pricy, it"s often reserved as a special treat for big occasions. But foie gras is not simply an innocent meal choice; rather it is a highly controversial one.

Foie Gras - the cruelty behind it

For those unaware, foie gras is defined as "the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage" under French law. Gavage is the administration of food or drugs by force, especially to an animal, typically through a tube leading down the throat to the stomach. Immediately, this definition raises some red flags. As we know for our own health and safety, the ingestion of excessive fatty products is not only highly dangerous for the health of our livers, but also for our overall well-being. As humans, we are constantly told to "watch our diets" and to monitor the amount of fat we eat, so we can remain in good health.

Jessica Loticus In the production of foie gras, not only are these creatures incapable of watching their diets, but they are also actively force-fed in order to make their livers plump and confer that "fatty" quality that most gastronomes desire.

Over the years, various animal rights groups worldwide have called attention to this cruel and unjust practice of forcibly fattening ducks and geese to make foie gras. In some of the complaints lodged against such practices, the livers of the animals were found to be swollen to twice their normal size, making it difficult for the animal to walk or for its body to function properly. Other cases showed that the esophagus of the bird was visibly scarred through the practice of force-feeding causing it to ingest a lot more than it would in the wild. Lastly, many animal rights complaints pointed out that the forcible ingestion of all this fat led to impaired liver function in the bird, and sometimes even death.

These cruel and unjust practices have led to foie gras being outlawed in many countries around the world, such as India, Germany, Italy, Australia, Argentina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. Some of these prohibit preparation, but not the import of foie gras, while others outlaw the product altogether.

The history of foie gras in California

The subject of foie gras was first brought to attention in California in 2004 when the California foie gras law was first enacted and signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It would be another eight years until the law itself went into effect in 2012. Allegedly, this time was allowed to pass in order to allow foie gras producers to come up with another way to prepare foie gras without force-feeding animals, but no such method was found.

Sparking much controversy, the California foie gras law was immediately contested by several foie gras producers, who sought to overturn it and continue their own sordid practices. While the initial attempt to overturn the law failed, it was brought to attention again in 2015, when multiple parties sought to lift the ban on the sale of foie gras within the state. Lifting the ban would have at least allowed the importation of foie gras, if not the production itself. However, this attempt was also shut down in late 2015.

Unfortunately, the ban on foie gras within the state of California was lifted on July 14, 2020 by order of District Judge Steven V. Wilson, who made it once more possible for restaurants to import foie gras from outside the state of California.

Over the years, many restauranteurs and chefs attacked and opposed the ban on foie gras. Now, since it's once more possible to get foie gras within the state of California, it remains up to the individual's moral code whether they will order it next time they're in a restaurant.


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