Impatient for the statewide ban to take effect in July, anti-foie gras protesters have been threatening restaurants with loud and disruptive actions if they continue serving the delicious but controversial liver. Michael Bauer took note of the mess at Bay Wolf last week, and now he brings the news that Bay Wolf has since canceled a second foie gras dinner in order to avoid the hassle — the restaurant’s outdoor patio seating made the protest all the more disruptive, and one diner got hit with a sign — and Campton Place went ahead and removed foie gras from their menu altogether after receiving threats of a protest there. Don’t they know that Gary Danko has been dealing with these on-again, off-again protests for years?
And is all this really about a few duck livers? Bauer argued earlier that foie gras production is pretty miniscule (and arguably less cruel) when compared to industrial pork or beef production. And Bay Wolf owner Michael Wild reports that of the 1,200 emails he received in response to his foie gras dinner (and Bauer’s subsequent coverage of it), many of them veered in the direction of anti-meat consumption.
Basically, foie gras is like the partial-birth abortion of food politics — for the passionate extremists, it’s the example practice they believe everyone will oppose, and which stands in for using animals for food in general, even though it represents the tiniest sector in our food chain.
We’re just looking forward to the secret menu items that will arrive, like delightful, naughty little surprises at fine dining venues, after the prohibition begins.
Score one — make that two — for the foie gras protesters [Between Meals/Scoop]
Earlier: Let Them Eat Foie!
Some CA Chefs Lament as Both Shark Fin and Foie Gras Get Set to Be Banned
