Farmed Animal Watch: Objective Information for the Thinking Advocate
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AUGUST 25, 2006 -- Number 31, Volume 6

1. FOIE GRAS BAN CAUSES UPROAR

Chicago’s ban on the sale of foie gras went into effect on Tuesday (Aug. 22nd). That same day, the Illinois Restaurant Association and Allen’s Café filed a lawsuit claiming that the ban violates the state constitution. They assert that since foie gras is not produced in or near the city, the city council cannot ban the sale of it. A city law department spokesperson says that where a product is produced doesn’t matter. “Fireworks, guns, we regulate all those things and they aren't produced in Chicago,” she pointed out.

The newly formed Chicago Chefs for Choice and the Artisan Farmers Alliance, representing U.S. foie gras producers, are also supporting the suit. They say the ban will cost upward of $18 million annually in lost sales, tax revenues and tips. A few chefs say they will serve foie gras for free, charging instead for accompanying dishes. Others are offering alternatives, such as a vegetarian option made from chickpeas and a “faux gras” version made from chickens’ livers. After the ban’s passage in April, sales of foie gras are reported to have tripled in some restaurants due to the attention the substance has garnered.

Chicago’s Department of Public Health is to respond to initial reports of foie gras sales with a letter, second reports are to engender a visit from a health inspector. A spokesperson said there is “little departmental enthusiasm” for enforcing the ban. Councilman Joe Moore, who sponsored the bill banning foie gras, said that Mayor Daley’s office will ultimately determine the enforcement of the ban, probably by relying on citizen complaints. Daley has said the council should repeal it. “The mayor had the opportunity to veto the ordinance. He chose not to. Let’s move on,” stated Moore.


RESTAURATEURS SEE FAUX PAS IN BAN ON FOIE GRAS
The Washington Post, Kari Lydersen, August 23, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/gljk7

FOIE GRAS FRACAS SIZZLES AS RESTAURANTS FILE SUIT
CNN (The Associated Press), August 23, 2006
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/23/foie.gras.ap/index.html?section=cnn_offbeat

FOR FOIE GRAS FANS, TASTE IS BITTERSWEET
Chicago Sun-Times, Janet Rausa Fuller, August 22, 2006
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-foie22.html

LAST TASTE OF BANNED FOOD – FOIE GRAS ICE CREAM
The Christian Science Monitor, Amanda Paulson, August 23, 2006
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0823/p02s02-ussc.html

OWNER PLANS TO SUE OVER FOIE GRAS BAN
CBS, Allen Sternweiller with Jon Duncanson, August 21, 2006
http://cbs2chicago.com/seenon/local_story_233173733.html

DALEY RIDICULES FOIE GRAS BAN
Chicago Sun-Times, Fran Spielman, August 22, 2006
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/foiegras22.html#

 

2. HSUS SUES TO BLOCK N.Y. FOIE GRAS GRANT

The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) has filed suit in the New York Supreme Court to block a $420,000 state grant to the country’s largest foie gras producer, Hudson Valley Foie Gras (see: http://tinyurl.com/233k63 ). The suit alleges that the state's use of taxes to underwrite foie gras production violates several state laws and rewards a business with a track record of polluting New York waters. "This company is polluting the state's rivers, flouting the cruelty law, and getting rich doing it; they don't need to get a free ride on the backs of taxpayers," said HSUS attorney Jonathan Lovvorn. Several local residents are co-plaintiffs. There are also two bills pending in the state legislature to ban foie gras production.

Hudson Valley spokesperson Marcus Henley said the company is upgrading its facilities and expanding from 250,000 to 325,000 ducks. The grant money will be used to improve wastewater treatment, according to Henley. “The idea is to retain and create jobs. To do that, we have to improve our infrastructure,” he said. He dismissed the lawsuit as “baseless.”


HUMANE SOCIETY SUES TO BLOCK NY FOIE GRAS EXPANSION
North Country Gazette, August 24, 2006
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/082406FoieGrasSuit.html

FERNDALE: HUMANE SOCIETY SUES TO STOP GRANT FOR FOIE GRAS PRODUCER
Times Herald-Record, August 25, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/jhq76

 

3. BEN & JERRY'S MELTS UPON EXPOSURE

“Although it supports the cruel confinement of hens on factory farms for its US ice cream, Ben & Jerry's has already made the switch to cage-free eggs for its European products,” states an August 23rd article on World Poultry. The company has since announced that within the week it will cease doing business with its U.S. egg supplier, Michael Foods Inc., one of the country’s largest wholesaler of egg products. The decision was prompted by an embarrassing expose? by The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS). Ben & Jerry’s had promised the organization several times last year that it would stop using eggs from caged birds but last week reneged, according to HSUS. The group then went public with it’s “A Scoop of Lies” campaign. It is insisting that Ben & Jerry’s switch to eggs from uncaged hens. The company, which uses an estimated 30 million eggs annually for its U.S. production, had said it could not find “an economically manageable way” to obtain such eggs here. It is now reviewing the possibilities.

HSUS targeted Ben & Jerry’s through it’s campaign against the treatment of hens by Michael Foods (see: http://www.farmedanimal.net/faw/faw6-21.htm#2 ). Michael’s said this week that it will give hens more space. HSUS wants it to stop using battery cages. Trader Joes and Whole Foods grocery chains, two other Michael Foods customers, have pledged to switch to cage-free eggs. Over 100 colleges and universities in the U.S. have either done the same or reduced their use of eggs from caged hens.



WELFARE ACTIVISTS CRITICISE BEN & JERRY'S EGGS
World Poultry, August 23, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/zpdcf

BEN & JERRY'S SOURS ON MINNESOTA EGG SUPPLIER
Star Tribune, Matt McKinney, August 23, 2006
http://www.startribune.com/535/story/631689.html

BEN & JERRY'S SAYS IT USES FREE-RANGE EGGS IN EUROPEAN PRODUCTS, IN CONTRAST TO U.S.
Associated Press, August 23, 2006
http://news.lp.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/08-23-2006/bb79000710e740aa.html

BEN & JERRY’S DROPS EGG SUPPLIER ACCUSED OF MISTREATING HENS
Associated Press, Frederic J. Frommer, August 23, 2006
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/15343455.htm

BEN & JERRY’S FACES COMPLAINT ABOUT HENS
Burlington Free Press, Victoria Welch, August 22, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/nc7tc



4. CANADA CONFIRMS 8TH CASE OF BSE

Canada’s eighth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (B.S.E., a.k.a. “mad cow disease”) was confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Wednesday. The victim was a mature cow in Alberta intended for use as meat. The agency said on Thursday that the seventh confirmed victim most likely contracted the disease from contaminated feed. The 50-month-old cow was born years after 1997, when Canada instituted a ban on protein from cattle and other ruminants in cattle feed. Used for milk production, she was the youngest animal in Canada to test positive for the disease since the first native-born case was discovered in 2003. The CFIA also recently concluded its investigation into Canada's sixth confirmed case, a Manitoba cow, but was unable to determine the animal's birth farm. She was born prior to the feed ban, having been at least 16 years old at the time of her death. The agency announced in June that it aims to eliminate B.S.E. within the next 10 years by banning specific cattle tissues capable of transmitting mad cow disease from all farmed and companion animal feed.


CANADA'S 7TH MAD COW CASE SAID CAUSED BY FEED
Reuters, Marcy Nicholson, August 24, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/mdhwn

 

5. PAIN RELIEF FOR MULESING

Bayer has introduced a “powerful” anesthetic called Tri-Solfen in response to the Australian government’s demand that lambs subjected to mulesing be provided with pain relief. Australian Wool Growers Association Chairman Martin Oppenheimer said: “With no alternative to mulesing in sight, Tri-Solfen means we can continue this vital procedure and satisfy international consumers and the community… As well as relieving pain, the anesthetic promotes healing, improving mobility and feeding, results in better mothering up, and allows growers to produce ethically treated wool.”

The drug costs about 30 cents per lamb, and farmers and ranchers can administer it themselves. (Hugh Wirth, president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has said that “only those with qualifications and experience should be conducting surgical animal husbandry procedures"). Under an agreement between Australian wool producers and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), mulesing is to be phased out by 2010. Australian Wool Innovation is investigating alternatives to surgical mulesing in preparation for the 2010 deadline for the practice.


MULESING: TAKING OUT THE PAIN
Yorke Peninsula County Times, Ros White, August 8, 2006
http://kadina.yp-connect.net/%7Eypct/farming/06/08/08/1.html


6. UPCOMING CONFERENCES

“THE STRENGTH OF MANY,” the 21st annual International Compassionate Living Festival, will take place October 6-8, 2006 in Los Angeles (near LAX). “Speakers and panelists will explore opportunities for cooperative action both within and beyond the animal advocacy movement.” For more information, see: http://www.animalsandsociety.org/conference06.htm

FUTURE TRENDS IN ANIMAL AGRICULTURE (FTAA) SYMPOSIUM - Addressing International Trade Complexities of Animal Welfare.
Open to the public, the purpose of the symposium is “to briefly present background information by government representatives, and the perspectives of representatives of professional and industry organizations, advocacy groups, and universities on animal welfare issues that may impact international trade opportunities. Presentations will help ensure USDA personnel and policy makers, animal advocates, staffers and the public have a more clear understanding of the current status and implications of trade and related animal welfare issues.” The FTAA committee is composed of animal protection, government, and industry representatives.
September 20, 2006, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., in the Jefferson Auditorium, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. On-site registration will primarily be limited to congressional and federal government personnel. For more information, contact David Brubaker at: PennsylvaniaB@aol.com.






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Compiled and edited by Cat Carroll and Mary Finelli, Farmed Animal Watch is a free weekly electronic news digest of information concerning farmed animal issues gleaned from an array of academic, industry, advocacy and mainstream media sources.