The Supreme Court validates the ban on foie gras in California. The law of 2004, prohibiting to sell in this American State products “from the force-feeding of poultry to enlarge his liver,” between, from now on, in force.
For individuals who are not sure precisely what foie gras is, the term means “fatty liver”: large, pale, butter-rich lobes of duck or goose liver that are traditionally seared or made into pate. The creation of Foie gras is a method by which by ducks and geese are force-feeding through a process called “gavage,” inserting a tube down the birds’ throats and pouring grain into it, which opponents consider excessive cruelty.
It is the end of a long legal battle between the defenders of the fat and the militant of the animal cause. The Supreme Court validated Monday, January 7, the ban on this elegant dish in California. The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal lodged by foie gras producers against a California law prohibiting the sale in that State of products “resulting from the force-feeding of poultry to enlarge its liver.”
This law was passed in 2004 by California in the name of the fight against cruelty to animals. It provides for a fine of 1,000 dollars in case of infringement. Entered into force in 2012, it was suspended by the courts in 2015 and validated on appeal in 2017.
Producers of foie gras from Canada and New York, as well as a Californian restaurateur, had then appealed to the Supreme Court in defense of this food “perhaps the most denigrated (and misunderstood) in the world. ” They argued that a state could not ban a federally authorized product. They had received support from France, who had considered that the California law was “an attack on the French tradition,” where this dish is part of the gastronomic and cultural heritage.
“Victory for Poultry.”
The Supreme Court had asked in June 2018 the opinion of the government. The latter had ruled that the ban could remain in force because it concerned a production method and not an ingredient.
Monday, the Highest court in the nation has finally rejected the appeal, which does not require justification. The law, which could not apply until the procedure had been completed, now enters into force.
“This victory for the animals follows important efforts by animal rights activists to oppose the archaic foie gras industry,” the Peta association responded, denouncing in a statement “a cruel production process.”.
“We are absolutely thrilled that the Supreme Court has denied the foie gras industry’s petition to hear the case, and that will allow the Ninth Circuit’s ruling upholding the law’s constitutionality to go into effect, hopefully, today,” said Kelsey Eberly, staff attorney at the Animal Legal Defense Fund.