Removal of traditional liver garlands from official events in environmentally oriented cities such as Lyon, Strasbourg, or Grenoble has caused unrest ahead of the Christmas holidays, even though these events are not new.
Animal protection organizations have welcomed the initiatives. “Today in France, resistance against this extremely cruel product is beginning, and promises to no longer serve liver garlands one after another are coming in, especially from city authorities approached by Peta and their supporters,” said the Peta association in a press release, welcoming the “good news.” The industry organization Cifog (Interprofession du foie gras) expressed being “shocked and outraged” by these decisions and called them “an insult to all French producers who raise their animals with passion and strict compliance with animal welfare.”
Read also: Lyon City Hall confirms foie gras ban at official receptions
“Cultural and gastronomic heritage”
Now chefs have joined the debate, eagerly including foie gras in their festive menus. Fourteen chef associations have just signed the “Manifesto in support of the foie gras industry”. Noting that foie gras “has been recognized as a protected cultural and gastronomic heritage in France since 2006,” these chefs commit to “valuing foie gras as an inexhaustible source of culinary inspiration during the holidays and throughout the year; formally offering the relevant municipalities to review their decisions; ensuring the quality of foie gras production methods in France by organizing visits for one or more of their members to farms, force-feeding facilities, or processing plants.”
Among the signatories are Jean-Marc Manas, president of the National Academy of Cuisine (Académie nationale de cuisine), Alain Fontaine, president of the French Association of Master Restaurateurs (Association française des maîtres restaurateurs), and Guillaume Gomez, president of “Chefs of the Republic” and co-chair of Euro-Toques France.