The fight over foie gras intensifies
It's a food fight rapidly becoming national. Foie gras, a symbol of culinary indulgence, has been under attack for years by animal rights organizations.
Lately, the fight has been heating up, with proposed legislation that would ban foie gras production and sales in several states, including Massachusetts. There have been public spats between chefs and protests outside restaurants, including picketers marching last month in front of Beacon Hill's No. 9 Park and Clio in the Eliot Hotel. Protesters argue that the feeding methods used to fatten ducks in order to make their livers richer are inhumane.
Many Boston chefs say their customers demand the voluptuous and expensive foie gras (French for fat liver). They argue that the feeding method is not cruel. ''I think that it is a good product to use, and I have no feeling that I need to take it off [the menu]," says Frank McClelland, chef and owner of L'Espalier in Back Bay, where the liver is offered as an appetizer.
Jamie Mammano, chef and owner of Mistral in the South End, agrees. He says that serving foie gras is a matter of satisfying his customers. ''I'm not crazy about the way the product is raised," he adds, but he has questions about other products as well. ''You have to go with the guests' expectations. People have learned to love it and they demand it."
A catalyzing event in the controversy occurred last fall when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a California bill banning foie gras production and sales. California was one of only two states with farms producing foie gras -- New York is the other -- and the California law allows its sole producer, in Sonoma County, a grace period until 2012. A similar bill in New York, which backers are hopeful of passing, would allow the other US producer, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, 10 years to stop production. Although there are no producers in Massachusetts, legislation proposed in this session would ban sales. Timothy O'Neill, an aide to state Senator Susan Fargo, who is sponsoring the bill, says it is ''proactive," and the emphasis will be on sales and transportation. ''It's important that Massachusetts takes the lead on issues such as this," O'Neill adds.
The process of fattening ducks -- and their livers -- by pouring feed down tubes in their throats several times a day is ancient, possibly started by the Egyptians. It's still popular in France, where ducks and geese are fed this way. Ducks, says Michael Ginor, one of the owners of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, have hardened esophagi, no teeth, and swallow their food whole. That, and the fact that waterfowl in migration eat large amounts to store up nutrients, means that the ducks are suited for this feeding and are not damaged by it.
Opponents, however, led by Farm Sanctuary, a national animal rights organization, insist that the feeding harms ducks and that they are often kept in small cages and otherwise mistreated. Recently, Charlie Trotter, the chef and owner of the eponymously-named Chicago restaurant, said that he no longer serves foie gras as part of his elaborate and expensive tasting menu. In an article March 29 in the Chicago Tribune, he was quoted as saying he thought the feeding method was not justifiable. He and another well-known Chicago chef, Rick Tramonto of Tru, exchanged heated words in print, with Trotter saying that Tramonto is ''not the smartest guy on the block," and Tramonto saying Trotter's stand was hypocritical because ''either you eat animals or you don't eat animals."
At Boston's protests, No. 9 Park manager Eli Feldman says people marched for several hours around lunchtime, handing out informational material. He says the restaurant was asked to remove foie gras from the menu but decided not to. ''We made the determination that it is a product we will continue to serve," says Feldman, adding that the protesters were respectful and pleasant. Farm Sanctuary's national legislative coordinator, Alison Stoll, says Clio managers had been approached with their materials and refused to accept them, which was one reason Clio was picketed. She adds that the restaurant is ''in a visible location with a lot of foot traffic," on Massachusetts Avenue in Back Bay, and ''provides a good platform to reach out" to passersbys.
Israeli-born Ginor, of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, says the protesters are both well organized and a little frightening. As he puts it, duck liver has become ''the fur of the food industry." Its snobbish allure makes it a better target for activists than other food industries, says Ginor. ''The aspect of 'force feeding' is an imagery much easier to get across than fighting the chicken industry."
He disputes Farm Sanctuary claims that fattened ducks are kept in small cages or that they're mistreated or that the livers are diseased. Ducks in nature gorge, he says, causing their livers to expand, and then the livers shrink back to regular size. He raises about 100,000 ducks at a time on his farm and sees a low mortality rate compared with other poultry production. He attributes this to the high caretaker-to-bird ratio. If the New York bill passes, Hudson Valley will eventually be out of business. Ginor says he and co-owner Izzy Yanay aren't disputing the bill this year because they are faced with a ''choiceless choice." It was ''either phase out, or we'll put you out of business," he says. He hopes that ''saner minds" will prevail within the decade and his farm won't be forced to close.
Meanwhile, restaurant owners try to puzzle out their stands. Marc Orfaly, chef and co-owner of Pigalle near the Theater District, often serves foie gras as a weekend special. Otherwise, Orfaly pan-fries regular duck livers, which are served with Parmesan risotto and red wine sauce. Though he can charge much more for foie gras, expensive ingredients usually make less profit for a restaurateur. He thinks the protests are regrettable. Ducks raised for foie gras are ''treated like royalty," Orfaly says, compared to chickens on commercial poultry farms. Besides, he says, the whole duck is used: Every part of the animal, including the beaks, feet, and other pieces, are sold to Asian markets.
Foie gras also comes into the Boston market from Canada, which is where Radius chef and co-owner Michael Schlow buys it. He also orders foie gras from Hudson Valley. He's visited the New York farm and thinks the ducks are treated ''in the most humane way possible," adding that someone could also question the way cattle or other animals are treated and slaughtered. ''I would be remiss" in not serving something customers expect, says Schlow. ''It sells incredibly well."
Not all local restaurateurs are ignoring the protests. Mitzi Kaitz, who owns Lucy's in Brookline's Coolidge Corner, has never had foie gras on her menu and won't be adding it. She doesn't like the way the liver is produced. Although customers ask for it and her chef would like to use it, ''It's one of the very few things as an owner, not a chef, I can decide not to serve in the restaurant."
