Foie Gras once again legal in California

[Shalmanese]

Eater reports that a federal court has struck down the California Foie Gras ban and Californians no longer have to resort to bathtub foie gras, served in smoky speakeasies, forever fearful of the temperance police busting down the doors. Foie gras is once again available on the open market and there was much rejoicing!

[GlorifiedRice]

Ive never had any...I keep forgetting...whats it like?

[nickrey]

Fatty liver

[andiesenji]

I believe it is just the import ban that was struck down, not the ban on raising geese and ducks for their livers.

[djyee100]

I believe it is just the import ban that was struck down, not the ban on raising geese and ducks for their livers.

 

Correct. The law banning the sale of foie gras in California has been struck down. However, another law prohibiting the production of foie gras in California still stands. According to one article, there was only a single producer of foie gras in California prior to the ban, so obviously the second law had limited impact.

 

The judge said that a federal law on poultry products preempted the California law, i.e., the federal law in this instance overrides the state law. The state law basically interfered with the federal regulatory scheme for poultry products in commerce, so the state law had to fall. Since this is only a decision by a district court, it is appealable and may not be the final word.

 

 

Californians no longer have to resort to bathtub foie gras, served in smoky speakeasies...

 

There are people who are happy to have foie gras back, but they'll still miss the indoor smoking.

[savvysearch]

Ive never had any...I keep forgetting...whats it like?

Edited January 13, 2015 by savvysearch (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Creamy, rich umami bomb. That's what good foie gras tastes like.

[Shalmanese]

It tastes like if liver and bone marrow had beautiful, beautiful babies.

[Martin Fisher]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/opinion/let-them-eat-foie-gras.html

 

"And if you consider that cattle, for example, evolved to graze on grasses and are often fattened on grains — to which their digestive systems must then adapt — you might say that part of that industry’s routine is force-feeding."

 

Mark, get the hell out of the city once in a while and see how things really work. 

 

The article is all about emotion and totally void of a wholistic view of reality.

 

So, what shall we do...ban animal agriculture so we can gas billions more helpless insects in order to feed the hungry masses???

Aren't insects innocent animals too????

Ooops, they're icky aren't they?

 

Edited January 14, 2015 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[gfweb]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/opinion/let-them-eat-foie-gras.html

 

"And if you consider that cattle, for example, evolved to graze on grasses and are often fattened on grains — to which their digestive systems must then adapt — you might say that part of that industry’s routine is force-feeding."

 

Mark, get the hell out of the city once in a while and see how things really work. 

 

The article is all about emotion and totally void of a wholistic view of reality.

 

So, what shall we do...ban animal agriculture so we can gas billions more helpless insects in order to feed the hungry masses???

Aren't insects innocent animals too????

Ooops, they're icky aren't they?

 

 

Gwynneth approves of Mark's predictable response.

[djyee100]

But Mark Bittman makes a good point--all meat production (birds or animals) is "cruel" in the sense that the birds or animals are leading, at a minimum, "unnatural" lives to feed us, usually under conditions we'd rather not know about. People have made the decision that we are more important, or certainly more powerful, than birds or animals, so that's the system. Even if everybody were to go vegetarian tomorrow, we would be taking up more animal habitat to grow vegetables, and making sure by pesticides and herbicides that there is little competition for our food supply.

 

We can make certain things better, but for now most aspects of food production are a given--or so it seems. We all want to eat. Plenty. Of everything.

 

I did wonder about the foie gras legislation when it was passed. I thought the animal welfare advocates were picking the low-growing fruit on this one--chose to support this law because the majority of Californians don't know about, don't care about, or can't afford foie gras. My two foie gras-loving friends grumbled about the law, and everybody else said, What? It turns out the opposition had the feds on their side--this time. I do think the new egg-raising/less-confinement requirements are worthwhile, and do more good overall than the foie gras law ever did.