The titanic French chef has stopped buying foie gras from producer Ernest Soulard, at least temporarily, in response to footage posted online by animal-rights group L214 that includes images of sick, injured, and dead ducks throughout Soulard’s facilities. Through a spokesperson, Joël Robuchon said he will not accept the company’s foie gras at any of his restaurants until the producer can prove its ducks are not “mistreated as they are in the video.” Gordon Ramsay cut ties with the same supplier last week for the same reason; meanwhile, a Soulard rep defended the company’s image on France 3, or tried to, by explaining that cage confinement and the force-feeding process known as gavage take place a mere ten days out of the ducks’ twelve-week lifespan, during which time the animals are free-range. [Le Nouvel Observateur via Eater, Earlier]
