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FOIE GRAS

France slams Amazon UK ban on foie gras

France has criticized online retailer Amazon UK's decision on Monday to ban the sale of foie gras. The move came after animal rights campaigners denounced producers of the French delicacy as "very un-British" in their cruelty.

Published: 7 October 2013 16:20 CEST
France slams Amazon UK ban on foie gras
Amazon.co.uk on Monday added "foie gras" to a list of prohibited animal products including "whale, dolphin and shark parts." Photo: Luigi Anzivino

Activists have for years campaigned against the sale of foie gras, saying the practice of force-feeding ducks or geese in order to make the French gourmet item is cruel and amounts to torture.

"I regret Amazon's decision," Guillaume Garot, France's minister for agribusiness, told AFP.

"I once again want to point out the efforts made by French producers over the years to maintain real product quality while respecting the animal's well-being," he said.

The site Amazon.co.uk, which on Monday added "foie gras" to a list of prohibited animal products including "whale, dolphin and shark parts", would not comment on the reasons behind the ban.

SEE ALSO: Foie gras, smoking and summer holidays – 10 French traditions under threat

But animal rights campaign group Viva! said the move followed pressure by the organisation, which earlier this year presented the US online retailer with "evidence of the abject suffering" caused by foie gras production.

A petition against the sale of the delicacy was also signed by more than 10,000 Amazon customers and Viva! supporters.

Foie gras – which literally means fatty liver – is hugely popular in France, where it is eaten at Christmas and on other special occasions, but ongoing controversy over production of the delicacy has given it a bad name in other parts of the world.

SEE ALSO: Israel risks French ire with ban on foie gras

The sale of foie gras has been outlawed in California, while Britain's House of Lords has taken it off the menu.

Garot said he was nevertheless "very confident" about the future of the foie gras industry, which employs nearly 100,000 people directly and indirectly in France.

"I defend this sector because of jobs but also because of a certain idea of gastronomic heritage," Garot added.

SEE ALSO: 'Our meat could be next' – French minister fights California foie gras ban

The minister is due shortly to travel to South Korea for a visit partly aimed at promoting foie gras sales in the hope of repeating the kind of boom the product has recently enjoyed in Japan.

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FOIE GRAS

Ban ‘barbaric’ French foie gras, Danish politicians urge EU

Danish left-wing party SF (Socialist People’s Party) wants a debate on whether it should be legal to produce and sell French delicacy foie gras in the EU.

Published: 25 July 2019 11:37 CEST
Ban 'barbaric' French foie gras, Danish politicians urge EU
File photo: Benoit Tessier / Reuters / Ritzau Scanpix

The party, a parliamentary ally of the governing Social Democrats, wants foie gras banned in the European Union and has called its production “barbaric”.

“It is one of the most barbaric ways food can be produced. These birds are treated very badly, and we don’t think it’s okay,” SF spokesperson on food Carl Valentin said.

“Danes have actually already morally rejected this to a large extent. Consumption is falling fast [in Denmark, ed.] and production is already illegal in Denmark. That’s why we’re focusing on this issue,” Valentin continued.

Discussion of the matter by politicians follows a decision by management at Torvehallerne, an upscale food market in Copenhagen, to recommend its concession holders not to sell the French dish, a paté made from the livers of geese or ducks.

Torvehallerne made the decision after customers posted complaints on its Facebook page over the sale of foie gras at Ma Poule, a stand at the market which sells French specialities.

Although production of the delicacy is banned in Denmark, importing it is not, as such a ban is prevented by European Single Market laws.

Foie gras production involves overfeeding geese and duck for the last two weeks before they are slaughtered. This causes them to develop fatty liver disease, with the organ expanding to six to ten times its normal size, according to Danish animal welfare charity Dyrenes Beskyttelse.

90 percent of foie gras now comes from geese, rather than duck, which was previously the preferred bird, according to the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (DVFA). Although the majority of production is in France, the foodstuff is also made in Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain and Hungary.

EU rules do forbid foie gras from being produced in places where it has not previously been made, according to the DVFA website.

Valentin said he wanted the union to outlaw what he termed a “dish for the upper classes”.

“The reason I mention the upper class is that this is very much a dish for the upper classes. I think it’s sad that there’s so little focus on animal welfare and more thought goes to pleasing taste buds than protecting animals,” the SF spokesperson said.

READ ALSO: Why Danish milk cartons now carry three helpful words

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