Decanter World Wine AwardsFrench merchants boycott Californian wine in outrage at foie gras ban
- Monday 9 July 2012
Foie gras has been outlawed across California as a law banning force-feeding of animals came into force on 1 July.
Now in the Gers in southern France, the centre of world foie gras production, local winemakers are doing their bit to show solidarity to the region’s many producers, following suggestions from local politician Philippe Martin.
As only tiny amounts of Californian wine are sold in this part of France, it is largely a symbolic move, seen as a way of protecting a delicacy that is a key part of French culture.
‘Periodic bans in the United States have happened with our cheeses, with our wines, and now with our foie gras,’ Michel Laporte of the Cave des Pyrénées in Auch, and regional head of the trade group the Féderation des Cavistes Independents, told Decanter.com.
‘California may represent only 3 or 4% of overall sales of foie gras for France, but it is symbolic, and important to show we will defend our heritage.’
Although Laporte stresses that his move is a personal one, he has written to the national president of the FCI, asking for its position on the issue.
At the same time, French foie gras distributors in the US, along with American producers of the delicacy, are taking the Californian government to court.
Plaintiffs in the suit, filed last week, include Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Association des Éleveurs de Canards et d'Oies du Québec andCalifornia corporation Hot's Restaurant Group Inc, alleging that the law is unclear, and unfairly places a burden on restaurants and distributors to establish exactly which products are banned.
Have your say!
Zeech
September 05 08:43
This is a joke right? you know what the english (NOT brits) say: "too many rules and we're like the germans who came second in the last war. Too few rules and we are like the french who came in third by the way".
France is a nation of 3 hour lunch break slackers and can't ban shit.
I have to live here in slacker heaven and the most painful thing for them (the under 40's) is if the US were to stop cable... seriously
Terence Pang
July 21 16:54
Perhaps we should start supporting small foie gras producers who rely on seasonal self-gorging of the greedy geese before they migrate, and as such there is no force-feeding involved.
Juan Lopez
July 13 06:44
Yeah, well maybe we need to be told what to eat because right now we shove our faces with large amounts of red meat, sodium, high fructose corn syrup, geneticlly modified foods and asparteme.
These things are all proven in studies to kill you before your 60 if take in large to even moderate amounts.
And as far as fat duck liver go, sorry we Californians have morals and standards and respect for our fellow animal brethren that we share this life and earth with.
I got respect for my fellow latin brothers but we just have to take the moral high ground on this one. Hey, youll see it our way one day.
Viva California
Viva France
Ugly American in Paris
July 13 03:00
People please read! the ban is purely symbolic and they now it will not hurt one iota to the California wine producers. Yes it is another ban on European products without real merit driven by special interest groups. Remember even in the free world "no man is truly free"