New York Foie Gras Farms Challenged |
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June 21, 2006
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GourmetCruelty.com
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With everyone from the Pope and Pat Buchanan to the Israeli Supreme Court and the California governor's office condemning foie gras, few people are still in the dark about the violent force-feeding of ducks and geese to produce the high-priced fatty livers pushed in some restaurants and stores. But based on over 900 pages of evidence collected during a months-long investigation, the HSUS launched a legal action arguing that force-feeding birds is so harmful to the animals' health that it violates state food law.
Food safety regulations such as New York's Agriculture and Markets Law prohibit farmers from marketing diseased animals or their organs to ensure wholesome food for consumers and to encourage proper care for animals. These laws require animals raised for food to be healthy.
The Legal Investigation
Earlier this year, attorneys for the HSUS began interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence of what was happening physiologically to birds on foie gras factory farms in New York, the largest foie gras-producing state. Video footage shows ducks barely able to walk or even breathe normally, birds with open wounds, and others lying dead in their cages. We compiled sworn testimony from more than two dozen eyewitnesses and veterinarians familiar with foie gras production. We surveyed scientific literature on force-feeding and foie gras production. Laboratories examined foie gras sold by New York-based companies, and internationally recognized avian veterinarians and pathologists examined the bodies and livers of nearly a dozen ducks killed by the foie gras production process.
Purposefully Diseased Animals
Each necropsy determined that the birds had a degenerative disease called hepatic lipidosis (also called hepatic steatosis) which destroys liver function, eventually killing the animal. The foie gras birds were intentionally diseased, force-fed to produce the giant, abnormal livers the factory farmers profit from.
Dr. Ward Stone, a wildlife pathologist for New York, performed necropsies on some of the birds. In his examination (PDF), he noted "severe steatosis of the liver" and concluded that "the birds died at the time of force feeding." Dr. Yvan Beck, a veterinarian and internationally recognized expert on foie gras production, stated in his affidavit (PDF) that "all livers show a strong steatosis." According to Dr. Beck, the records "show that these pathologies exist...going all the way to the bird's death."
Violating New York Food Law
With evidence that the birds raised for foie gras are diseased, on June 21, 2006, the HSUS, along with the Government Accountability Project's Food Safety Program, Farm Sanctuary, and the New York State Humane Association, filed a legal action with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, asking the state to declare foie gras an adulterated food product and to ban its production. The department has 30 days to respond to the action before the matter is heard in court.
The Fight Against Foie Gras
The HSUS has launched a multi-pronged attack against the abusive practice of force-feeding for foie gras. HSUS attorneys have notified New York Governor Pataki that they intend to file a legal challenge to the state's award of $420,000 in New Yorkers' tax dollars to foie gras producers unless the questionable grant is immediately revoked. HSUS has also filed a legal notice of intent to sue Hudson Valley Foie Gras for dumping chlorine, fecal coliform, and ammonia into the Middle Mongaup River in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. The notice is required before HSUS can file a federal court action challenging Hudson Valley’s more than 900 documented violations of federal environmental laws. Moreover, two bills that would ban the cruel force-feeding of birds for foie gras are now pending before the New York legislature.
You Can Help
Tell Governor Pataki that the state should not subsidize a cruel factory farm.
See the Video
Forced Feeding at Hudson Valley
Foie Gras
Related Links
Force-Fed Abuse
Chicago Won’t Swallow Foie Gras Cruelty
California Decides to Permanently Pull Foie Gras Off the Menu
The HSUS v. New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, et al. (Foie gras state records)
