California's Foie Gras Ban About to Begin

On July 1, California will ban foie gras, created by the funnel-forced ingestion of large amounts of feed into a duck's esophagus. Eventually the liver grows to more than 10 times its normal size.

Published

12 months ago

Categories

Lifestyle, Food, US

Topics

Food, United States

Places

United States of America, California

Tags

foie gras

Transcript

Script[Location: Saratoga, CA][Source: AP][Video: foie gras dinner]IT'S A FANCY FAREWELL FOR A FOODIE FAVORITE...(waiter serves hor d'oeuvres saying "foie gras custard with dark chocolate?")...A FINAL FEAST OF FOIE GRAS.[SOT/Josiah Slone/Chef]("We're doing a foie gras dinner tonight. It's going to be seven courses of foie gras!")IN JUST A FEW WEEKS, FOIE GRAS, FRENCH FOR "FATTY LIVER," WILL BE ILLEGAL IN CALIFORNIA.[Location: San Francisco][Source: AP][Video: protest outside restaurant]WHAT'S CONSIDERED A RARE DELICACY FOR SOME...SEEMS EXTREMELY CRUEL TO OTHERS...AS FOIE GRAS IS PRODUCED THROUGH FORCE-FEEDING GEESE OR DUCKS TO CAUSE THEIR LIVERS TO SWELL TO MORE THAN 10 TIMES THIER NORMAL SIZE.(protestors yell: "There's no! Excuse! For animal abuse!")THIS ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP IS PROTESTING OUTSIDE RESTAURANTS WHICH HAVE VOWED TO FIGHT TO OVERTURN THE STATE'S BAN, PASSED BACK IN 2004 TO GIVE THE INDUSTRY NEARLY EIGHT YEARS WARNING.[Location: duck force feeding video][Source: Animal Protection and Rescue League][SOT/Dana Portnoy/United for Animals]"The ducks are treated in an incredibly inhumane manner. They have a ten inch pipe shoved down their throats up to three times a day while two pounds of feed is pumped into their stomach. That's a third of their body weight. Think of that in comparison to a human. It's like a 150-pound human being force fed 50 pounds of pasta three times a day."[Location: Fremont, CA][Source: AP][Video: woman makes tofu dish in industrial kitchen]THIS SMALL OPERATION IS RESERECTING AN ANCIENT JAPANESE RECIPE TO CREATE A VEGETARIAN TREAT WHICH COULD ALSO BE A FOIE GRAS ALTERNATIVE.IT'S A MISO-CURED TOFU DISH AGED FOR TWO MONTHS.[SOT/Oanh Nguyen/Rau Om Foods]("A cross between butter and foie gras. It's not as dry as foie gras can sometimes get. It's rich and soft and creamy.")[SOT/Haven Daley/Associated Press]("The tofu misozuke does have a similar texture to foie gras but the flavor is different with more of a nuttiness, saltiness and savory flavor...")THAT'S REALLY MEANT TO BE SERVED AS A SPREAD, LIKE CHEESE, RATHER THAN AN INGREDIENT TO COOK WITH.[Location: San Francisco][Source: AP][Video: chef jars foie gras in his home kitchen]ONE SAN FRANCISCO CHEF HAS COME UP WITH A WAY TO PRESERVE FOIE GRAS.[SOT/Russell Jackson/Chef]("Closed up. Poached off. Chilled and, if held correctly, can last for ten years. So great way to stockpile. We're going into what is essentially prohibition here in this state. If anybody remembers, prohibition didn't really work.")HE'S CONCERNED THE BAN WON'T STOP AT FOIE GRAS.[SOT/Russell Jackson/Chef]("If this law goes into effect, we're talking about not feeding a bird beyond what it would normally weigh in the wild. Turkeys in the wild weigh 4 to 7 pounds. Can you imagine your Christmas dinner with a table full of four pound turkeys?")THE BAN GOES INTO EFFECT JULY 1.[SOT/Josiah Slone/Chef]("I do eat foie gras a few times a year and I'm kind of offended that people are now telling me that I can't. Might as well get some while I can.") (eats)HAVEN DALEY, ASSOCIATED PRESS, SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA.(****END****)