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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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