Gov. Schwarznegger terminates form of animal cruelty

By Lorraine Nicotera/ Animals Voice
Holbrook Sun
November 12, 2004

When I was younger and naive, I imagined that liver pate was this delicacy that only rich people could eat.

A top-of-the-line pound-and-a-half chunk of Grade A duck liver can cost $65 or more. It's considered trendy to slice it, sear it, and serve it up with a tangy fruit garnish, but it's usually just made into pate so it is a type of fancy liverwurst for rich people.

It's still portrayed as a sign of affluence on shows like "Frasier," where the people eating it are snobbish. I envisioned it tasting creamy and soft and palatial. The closest I had ever come to eating it (not being rich, I guess) was a liverwurst sandwich on white bread.

Last month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a ban (SB1520) on the sale and production of foie gras in California. The law doesn't take effect until 2012, theoretically giving the industry more than seven years to invent a different method. Arnold has been applauded by animal lovers across the country for this feat.

I looked it up in a Webster's: foie gras is pronounced fwah grah, literally translated from French meaning "fat liver." It is the grotesquely oversized, diseased liver of a duck or goose.

To "make" foie gras, an enormous amount (around a third of the bird's body weight) of a rich, fatty goop is pumped directly into a goose or duck's digestive system, using a long metal pipe, two or three times daily for two to three weeks until the birds develop fatty liver disease.

The birds' livers blow up like a balloon to about 10 times a liver's normal, healthy size. These water-loving birds are confined in filth where they are unable to swim, nest, graze, or fly so that they can be easily grabbed a few times a day and be force-fed.The birds are then slaughtered for their livers.

This force-feeding results in hepatic lipidosis, a type of liver disease. If eating a bile-secreting organ is not gross enough on its own, foie gras is eating a really sick bile-secreting organ.

The bill was supported by more than a dozen top celebrities including Martin Sheen, Sir Paul McCartney, Kim Basinger, Alicia Silverstone, and Mary Tyler Moore. It also was supported by a broad coalition of animal protection groups, including the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, Farm Sanctuary, Los Angeles Lawyers for Animals, and Viva!USA.

There are two foie gras farms in the United States. One is in California and the other is located in New York, and legislation is pending in that state to ban the practice.

Several other countries, including Israel, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the majority of provinces in Austria have already banned force feeding to produce foie gras. So far, the New York bills have not gone anywhere, but hopefully California's effort will provide the needed momentum.

No matter what your stand is on being vegetarian or not, I am hardpressed for anyone to justify the kinds of cruelty that force an animal to become sick.

Foie gras, and veal for that matter, are both, by definition, the product of sick, maltreated animals, yet opponents, express irritation at being lectured to about their habits and favorite foods.

Some food critics, restaurant owners, and even some politicians think that stopping this cruel practice is akin to stopping the planet from revolving. They argue that this is not that cruel, and even if it is, no one should be told what to eat by anyone.

I'm always amazed by this attitude, but burdened with the knowledge of how the food was obtained. I think that most people are compassionate at heart, and if they knew the cruelties involved, they would find a replacement food.

One can eat faux gras instead of foie gras. Instead of supporting the inhumane force feeding of birds by consuming pate that is made from the enlarged livers of ducks and geese, there is one recipe on the www.nofoiegras.org website that serves eight, made of mushrooms, walnuts, and rosemary.

I'm hoping that chefs and businesses from California to New York start experimenting with new alternatives that please everyone of all economic standings.

For more information on this campaign helping ducks and geese, visit www.nofoiegras.org, or www.gourmetcruelty.org.

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Lorraine Nicotera is the vice president of the South Shore Humane Society. She is an animal rights advocate and has been vegan for about 10 years.