The gourmet food known as foie gras is produced by the agricultural practice of force feeding geese in order that their livers shall have a specific size, taste and consistency due to this dietary practice. Whether or not this mode of production is unpleasant for the geese, is actually unknown. No geese have been interviewed. They are mechanically fed to what appears to be over-satiation, and when butchered the resulting huge liver is an extremely profitable by-product of the goose production business. Foie gras has been a staple farm product in France and elsewhere for generations, and is a renowned culinary tradition. Animal activists commonly object to the fact that high end restaurants in the US and Europe feature foie gras on their menus. The ALF (Animal Liberation Front) has often taken credit for doing damage to American restaurants that feature foie gras. The eco-terrorism specialty of this group of thugs is broken windows, graffiti, and other acts of vandalism.

Idiot Hollywood celebrities such as Loretta (Hot Lips) Swit occasionally make statements supportive of the ALF position that foie gras should be banned in the US, claiming that foie gras production is comparable to torture. Ms Swit claimed that such “torture” is similar to that allegedly carried out at Abu Ghraib. Does she mean that geese used in that production have been sexually exploited by camera wielding persons, or deeply embarrassed by being exposed to sexual taunts by military women? See the Center for Consumer Freedom, November 1 “Headlines” website for recent details.

We think this is the most nonsensical claim made so far on behalf of well fed geese.

IWMC believes that the attempts at a foie gras ban recently in Chicago, and previous ones in California are seen by the ALF as one small step for the principle of a foie gras ban, and a huge step forward for activism, as they test the way for banning all the other alleged “cruelties” of meat production techniques. The ALF threats of vandalism are nothing more than a power play that deserves to be handled as a law enforcement matter.

Activist vandalism, bullying, and the media coverage of this behavior should not result in legislatively mandated changes to restaurant menus or in changes to the availability of certain ethnic foods. The acts of animal activism are simply annoying noises in a system that makes a wide diversity of foods available in major cities all over the world.

We strongly urge local governments not to cave in to the ALF demands that any legal foods should be banned. No free society should have to submit to the threats of the “food police” to ban anything. Today foie gras, tomorrow, prime beef and pork, veal, Long Island duckling, tuna steak, shrimp, sashimi and sushi.