Santa Maria Sun / Letter To The Editor

Food for thought

Tanya Petrovna

California isn’t the only place looking out for the welfare of ducks and geese. The Compass Group, a British company that caters events such as Wimbledon, has decided it will no longer serve foie gras due to ethical concerns.

It’s an important reminder that California’s foie gras ban was the right thing to do, even as chefs and restaurants look for sneaky loopholes to continue serving diseased livers to diners.

Birds force-fed for foie gras have up to four pounds of grain and fat pumped into their stomachs through metal pipes every day. The pipes sometimes puncture the birds’ throats, and the force-feeding process causes their livers to balloon to as much as 10 times their natural size, sometimes causing their livers to burst. It is common for birds who have been force-fed to suffer from hepatic encephalopathy, a serious brain ailment that occurs when their livers fail. This seems radical for a moment of gustatory sensation.

Hopefully other businesses and states will also find their moral compass and agree that it is better to have a big heart for animals’ welfare than to dine on their engorged livers, especially when chefs are capable of creating so many other wonderful options.