Liver It Up While You Can

New York’s proposed ban on large sugary drinks has taken up a lot of attention lately, but an even bigger food ban is set to take effect in less than a month.(Bigger in terms of area, at least.) On July 1^st California will become the first state, and one of the few places in the world, where the sale of foie gras is banned.  

“California's decision to ban foie gras, which is made from the liver of a specially fattened duck or goose, was taken in 2004 and signed into law by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but an eight-year period of grace was allowed,” says UK’s Telegraph. “Since then a debate has raged between gourmands and some chefs on one side, with animal welfare activists on the other.”  

In a last-minute binge, many California restaurants are selling different versions of the dish and some chefs are holding secret dining events to give diners one last legal taste. Also, according to the Telegraph, “there have been protests, warnings of future black market bootlegging, and even death threats against non-compliant chefs.” 

Chef/author/cable TV host Anthony Bourdain is friends with some of the chefs who’ve received death threats. While Bourdain is not any type of conservative (among other things, he’s publicly expressed a desire to deep-fry former Vice President Dick Cheney’s head), he’s a critic of governmental food-nannying and he’s spoken out against the anti-foie gras extremists. “Sadly, it's my own party who cause the biggest problems for chefs,” Bourdain tweeted on May 11. Case in point: California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton joined the chorus of intimidation by using violent-sounding rhetoric against chefs who’ve had the audacity to criticize the ban, which is especially inappropriate in light of the physical threats some chefs have faced.

It is shocking and ultimately sad to see a state ban a dish which is a staple of fine cooking and has been prepared and enjoyed since ancient Egyptian times. The agenda of the relative few who strongly oppose the force-feeding of ducks is about to be shoved down the throats of many chefs and food lovers. That’s why we want to keep the state off our plates and menus.