News

Mass. pols vow to ban `reprehensible' gourmet goose treat

Boston Herald
Friday, April 8, 2005

Celebrity chef Todd English could soon serve his last foie gras in Massachusetts.

Following California's example, a group of state legislators aim to ban the sale and production of the culinary delicacy created by force-feeding ducks or geese so their livers swell and become, literally translated, ``fatty liver.''

``Inflicting pain on any animal is morally reprehensible. There is no excuse for this type of behavior,'' said state Sen. Sue Fargo, the bill's sponsor. She said a feeding tube is inserted down a goose's throat so workers can shove ``the human equivalent of 11 pounds of food into its stomach'' daily for weeks.

No foie gras farms exist in Massachusetts. The biggest seller to the region is Michael Ginor, co-founder of Hudson Valley Foie Gras in New York, who contends the process doesn't harm ducks because they're built for binging in preparation for migration.

``We as humans wouldn't want that done to us but we as humans aren't built for it,'' said Ginor, who sells a pound and a half of foie gras for $65.

But Ginor admits his industry's goose is probably cooked in the United States. He predicts makers in France will benefit.

Meanwhile, celebrity chefs are starting a food fight. Todd English is pro-foie gras and so is Wolfgang Puck, but Chicago's Charlie Trotter says he won't sell it anymore.