The Animal Liberation Front: Foie Gras Protest and the Battle for Food Rights

We're here to protest foie gras, and we stand in solidarity with activists all over the world. We're here to speak up for the animals because violence is violence, and it's always unacceptable. These people threatened my family. They used acid on my windows. All of them are completely destroyed.

The Animal Liberation Front recently trashed a Sonoma restaurant owned by renowned chef, Laurent Manrie. They shot video of Manrique's wife and child through the window of their home, leaving a tape and a warning. A small note said, "You know, 'We're watching you. You know. Stop, or you will be stopped.'" Violence was used. There was an attempt to coerce them, and their way of thinking, and the way they lived their lives. And that is terror.

Foie Gras: The Controversial Food

Foie gras is the fattened liver of a duck or a goose. This process can only happen if the duck or the goose is force-fed. The practice dates back to Ancient Egypt and is a cultural tradition in France. Animal rights activists see this practice as torture, while chefs and producers insist that it is standard animal husbandry rooted in centuries-old tradition. There are some people who believe that you can produce foie gras without force feeding, but this hasn't really panned out.

More than 20 countries have banned foie gras production due to its cruel treatment of animals. The food has become a topic of debate, with some people swearing by its delicious taste and others opposing it on animal welfare grounds. Foie gras is often described as buttery, fatty, and luxurious. It's a favorite among foodies who enjoy its rich texture and flavor.

The Battle for Food Rights: A Conversation with Chef Richie Nicono

I'm here at the Farmer's Market in San Francisco to talk to Chef Richie Nicono about his feelings on the foie gras ban. Despite the ban, he's taken it upon himself to continue serving foie gras. Richie gets around the ban by offering foie gras by donation instead of selling it. If he were to get caught, it would be a $1,000 fine.

So, tell me a little bit about your setup here. We're a noodle stand at the farmer's market here at the Ferry Plaza. We've been around for four years, and we're market-driven ramen, utilizing whole animals, seasonal produce, organic vegetables. I'm just trying to take a craft approach to making ramen.

How does Foie Gras fit into your ramen? I mean, for us, it's just an ingredient we love working with. For me as a young cook, it was a privilege to get to use that in the kitchen. It is the most rich, luxurious thing you can put on anything. There's nothing else like it.

On Social Media: The Online Campaign Against Foie Gras

Munchies has taken to social media to spread their message against foie gras. They're mostly online, with a strong presence on Twitter. I've gotten death threats from people, one guy said he was going to kill me if I don't stop selling foie gras. Despite the backlash, Chef Richie Nicono remains committed to serving foie gras, and his noodle stand has become a hub for foodies who share his passion for the dish.

The Foie Gras Ban: Has it Shut Down All Foie Gras Consumption?

The foie gras ban in California has clearly not shut down all foie gras consumption. Has it added to the allure of the product? Probably. Has it made some people who wouldn't necessarily care about it or search it out, search it out? Probably.

In conclusion, the debate around foie gras is a complex and contentious issue. While some people see it as a delicious and luxurious food, others view it as a cruel practice that needs to be stopped. The battle for food rights is ongoing, with chefs like Chef Richie Nicono taking a stand against the ban. As the discussion around foie gras continues, one thing is clear: the passion and dedication of those on both sides of the issue are undeniable.

A Conversation with the Person Who Doesn't Want to Stop Eating Foie Gras

What would it take to stop you from eating foie gras? Could anything stop you from wanting to search out the foie gras? Not really. I mean, that's like asking if I want to eat sugar. Yes. What they don't realize is if you want to get something, there is always gonna be a way for you to get it.

Foie Gras: The Allure of the Prohibited

Foie gras has become an alluring and exclusive food item, despite its controversial origins. People are willing to go to great lengths to try foie gras, even if it means breaking the law. The ban on foie gras has only added to its allure, making it a sought-after delicacy among foodies.

The Animal Welfare Argument

Animal welfare activists argue that force-feeding ducks and geese is a cruel practice that should be banned. The process involves inserting a tube down the throat of the animal to feed it a diet of corn and other grains, often 24/7. This can lead to physical and mental health problems for the animals, including stress, pain, and even death.

The Chefs' Perspective

Chefs like Chef Richie Nicono argue that foie gras is a luxury food item that deserves to be enjoyed. They point out that force-feeding is not necessary for producing high-quality foie gras, and that many producers are working to improve animal welfare standards.

In conclusion, the debate around foie gras is complex and multifaceted. While some people see it as a delicious and luxurious food, others view it as a cruel practice that needs to be stopped. The battle for food rights is ongoing, with chefs like Chef Richie Nicono taking a stand against the ban. As the discussion around foie gras continues, one thing is clear: the passion and dedication of those on both sides of the issue are undeniable.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enWe're here to po,protest foie gras.And we stand insolidarity with activistsall over the world.And we're hereto speak up forthe animals becauseviolence is violence.And it is always-.>> These peoplethreatened my family.They used acidon my windows.All of themare completely destroyed.>> Animal LiberationFront trashed a Sonomarestaurant ownedby renowned chef,Laurent Manrie.They shot video ofManrique's wife andchild through the windowof their home,leaving the tape anda warning.>> A small note said,you know,'We're watching you.You know.stop, oryou will be stopped.>> Violence was used.There was an attemptto coerce them, andtheir way of thinking,and, andthe way they livedtheir lives.And that is terror.>> In 2004, the state ofCalifornia passed a lawbanning the sale andproduction of foie gras.That law was called S.B.1520 and it wentinto effect in 2012.On January 7, 2015 thatban was overturned,and now chefs cansell foie gras,at their restaurants,that's producedoutside of California.Munchies has beendocumenting thiscontroversy overthe last eight months.We spoke to chefs,consumers,animal rights activistsand politicians tosee what was happeningin California.>> So why is foie gras sointeresting?Because reasonablepeople disagree.>> If you would closeyour big, ignorantmouth long enough tohear the answer I.>> Because you'rea vegan andyou have a vegan agenda.>> Shame, shame on you.>>.>> Government regulationof the food we eat isnothing new, but one ofthe most controversialregulations is the ban offois gras in California.Foie gras is the fattenedliver of a duckor a goose.And this is somethingthat can onlyhappen if the duck orthe goose is force fed.This process is doneuntil the liver growsfrom being about this bigto being about this big.This practice dates backto Ancient Egypt andis a culturaltradition in.France.Animal rightsactivists seethis practice as torture,while chefs andproducers insist thatit is standard animalhusbandry rooted incenturies-old tradition.There are some peoplewho believe that you canproduce foie graswithout force feeding.But this hasn'treally panned out.So for all intents andpurposes.Foie gras involvesforced feeding.More than a dozencountries havebanned foie grasproduction due toits reliance onforced feeding.In the U.S., Californiawas the first andonly state tooutlaw the sale andproduction of foie gras,but die-hard fans foundloopholes to gettheir hands on it.Under the ban, it wasillegal to sell foie grasin California, butconsumers were permittedto purchase foie grasfrom out of state..So it's not just chefs.Foodies are so passionateabout this issue offoie gras, that theyactually do things likestart speakeasies wherethey buy foie gras,sell tickets tosemi-legal events wherefoie gras is .Available, soI'm here to find outwhat that's all about.I'm gonna meetwith Tracy Leefrom the Food Website,Dishcrawl.Tell me abouthow this works,the foie gras speakeasy.>> Yeah, so we loveto throw cute littleunderground supper clubs,and it's just aboutgathering a bunch offriends together.And I'm really excitedwe get to do foie gras,especially sinceit's illegal now.>> Is the ban.Just make it moreenticing for people, oris it, is it kind of goodfor speakeasy business,to have somethingthat's illegal,that you can providethis way, or not?>> From a consumerperspective,if you do it forthe public, andyou're a corporation,it's sort of a no no.A lot of my cheffriends have, ,.Really been, I mean,just getting sued.You know?Okay, we have toshut this down.And it's, it's becominga federal thing.A lot of people would,you know, salad plate,and then you'd get somefoie gras to go with it.>> Sure.>> Or you'd just getfoie gras anyways.And you don't see that somuch anymore.>> And now isthe possession illegal orjust the sellingthat's illegal?>> It's just the selling.>> So it's not like,you know,.It's not.I guess pot's legalhere to possess to huh?.Describe why is it sodelicious to you.>> It's buttery.It's fatty.When it's pan-seared,it just has a really nicetexture and layer to it.I mean, it's just sodecadent.You know.And I love that it,you know,I love drinking itwith some Muscat ordifferent thingslike that,adding the sweetelements.>> Yeah, it's fair.>> Perfect. .>> I'll step back now.She's gotthe hang of this.>> Look at that.Oh, my God.I want it.Woo.Do you see that?>> Yeah.>> All right.Let's eat, guys.Let's eat it.>> .>> what,what would it take tostop you fromeating foie gras?Could anythingstop you from,from wanting to searchout the foie gras?>> Not really.I mean,that's like asking ifI wanna eat sugar.Yes. .>> What theydon't realize is if youwant to get something,there is always gonna bea way for you to get it.>> Who knows?>> Foie gras ban inCalifornia clearlyhas not shut down allthe foie grasconsumption in here.Has it added to theallure of the product?Probably.Has it made some peoplewho wouldn't necessarilycare about it or searchit out, search it out?Probably...>> I got more Foieif anybody wants it..>> I'm here atthe Farmer's Market inSan Francisco to talk toChef Richie Nicono onhis feelings onthe foie gras ban.He has taken onhimself the burden ofgoing against the ban.So even thoughit's illegal,he's gonna continueto serve it.Richie gets around theban by offering foie grasby donation insteadof selling it.If he were to get caught,it would bea $1,000 fine.And so, I just kindawanna see why hethought it wasimportant enough.So, tell me a little bitabout your setup here.>> So,we're a noodle stand atthe farmer's market hereat the Ferry Plaza.We've been around forfour years,.Market driven ramen,utilizing whole animals.Seasonal produce.Organic vegetables.I'm just trying to take,like a craft approachto making ramen.>> So how does Foie Grasfit into ramen.>> I mean, for us,it's just an ingredientwe love working with.For me as a young cook,it was a privilege toget to use thatin the kitchen.I mean,it is the most rich,luxurious thing you canput on, on anything.There's nothingelse like it.>> What kind of heatdo you take for doing.Munchies.>> A lot.Mostly online.Mostly on Twitter.I mean, I've gotten deaththreats from people.One guy said he wasgonna\" skin me alive\"because we're,because were doing this.So...>> So, I mean do youtake any ofthat seriously?Do you worry about it?>> No,we usually favorite it orre-tweet it.You know.So...The fact that you'reserving it after theband, does that make yourcustomers want it more?Absolutely.The first timethat we served it,after the band, we soldout in about ten minutes.So, people knowwe're gonna have it,they ask all the timeif we're gonna have it.And if we do,there's a line beforewe even start.You guys eat foie gras?>> I do.>> Yeah.>> Do you want itin your ramen?>> Sure.>> $0.>> It'sthe foie gras alarm.>> It's the foie alarm.Yeah.>> Yeah.Whenthe ban came in describekind of your feelings.>> It was mostlyfrustration, andif anything it only mademe want to serve it more.>> So you really feelthat it's worthwhile togo against the ban?>> I think it'sworthwhile,I think it's a fightthat's worth fighting.Because, I feel like youstart with foie gras andsort of what's next?What do we ban next?What gets takenaway next?And, for me as a chef,I don't wanna betold what I can andcannot cook with.I'm responsible, I makethose choices myself.To make sureI'm giving ourguests the bestproduct available..>> So, San Francisco isnot only a gastronomiccenter of California.It also happens tobe the district forformer Senator JohnBurton, who is the personwho brought the foiegras bill to the Senate.And I wanna know howdoes that happen.How does governmentintervention even start?What's the kernel?>> My name isGuillermo Gonzalez.And I am a, a producer.The only producer offoie gras in California.I have been in thebusiness of foie gras for20 years.>> Sonoma Foie Graswas the only farm thatproduced foie grashere in the state ofCalifornia, andwas the only farm put outof business by S.B. 1520.Like they're gone.Like Guillermo Gonzalez'business, , over.We're talking abouta guy that came to thiscountry to escape a civilwar in El Salvador toonly have his family'slives threatened here inthe United States.And I really wantedto talk to him,because I thought hecould really put togethersome of the pieces ofthe puzzle that I stilldon't feel that I have.I've tried repeatedlyto get in touch withGuillermo Gonzalez.He really justdoesn't want toparticipate in thisdocumentary at all.And after severalattempts, I finally got,you know, this message.By now and after myabsence of follow up, andcommunication itis apparent that Imissed the step that youare inviting me to take,and participate in yourFole Gras documentary.I regret, I have todecline for good.But look forward toseeing your coverage ofthe story througha balanced perspective.Gratefully, GuillermoGonzalez,Sonoma Foie Gras.Clearly whatever happenedwasn't pleasant.So if Mister Gonzalezwon't talk to me,I guess I'lljust have to.Talk to all the otherplayers that he dealtwith during the debateleading up to the ban..>> So although somepeople are againstthe foie gras ban,some peopleare strongly for it.Like Brian Peace, theanimal rights activist.Whose earlier videossparked a lot ofthe debate on foie grashere in California.>> How did foie gras evenshow up in your mind,like this is whatI should do?>> Foie gras wassomething that, you know,you didn't heara whole lot about,and when I did hear aboutit, I thought well that,that's somethingthat's soextreme that,that should,that can't be allowedto be going on.That just has to be.Banned andI heard that before SB1520 was proposedthere had foryears been legislationproposed to ban the farmhere in California fromforce feeding ducks.But it never gotanywhere andthey just said well, youknow, the ducks are fine,they're not beingmistreated.But nobody ever reallyknew what was going on inthese farms soI thought well maybeif we can get in.To this farm and actuallydocument what's going on.Maybe that willexpose it and, andcreate some momentum.>> You're watchingABC 7 News at 6:30.>> An animal rightscomplaint overan expensivegourmet delicacy.ABC 7 News I Team hasan exclusive look at howthat stuff is made.>> These three activistsshot more pictures ofducks clinging to life.>> This one too weakto hold it's head up.They took four ofthe worst ducks toa veterinarian.Gonzales say's,he will try to havethe activists prosecuted.>> We believe thatthe farm owner should beprosecuted foranimal cruelty.>> I need to stress,highlight and underlinethat the images thathave been distributed.For your information,from the supporters ofthe bill, Our images thatwere taken in the processof committing a felony,in the process ofcommitting a crime, andthat it isa staged video.>> A lot of people oneither side of this issuefrankly have never beento an actual foie grasfarm to see, so you haveon a number of occasions,why don't you talk to meabout that experience.>> The first thing whenyou walk in it's just.The, the sheersize of it.I mean the,these are massive factoryfarms with thousandsof ducks in each shed.And they're inthese elevated penswhere there's maybe tenor 12 ducks per pen.And they're on theseslats, so their feces andurine just,just falls below them.So it's justsome kinda this.This filthy environment,andthey're all universallypanting forbreath from the,the pressure on theirorgans and just being,having been force-fed forthis, thislength of time.The conditions werejust so horrendous forthese ducks that werebeing force-fed by,with machines pipesbeing jammed down theirthroats andbeing pumped full of.Massive quantities offood to deliberatelymake them sick.To make their livers 12times their normal size.So they're in a prettysick state, and that'sjust not the way thatmost people agree animalsshould be treated even ifthey're raised for food.>> The activists foundbarrels of ducks thatdied before their liverscould be harvested,others stillbarely alive.They also watchducks too weak oroverweight to defendthemselves againstthe rats atSonoma Foie Gras.Rats were eating thesetwo ducks alive.You can see evidenceof similar battles onseveral other ducks.>> So talk to meabout rat eatsbloody duck butt.>> These ducks hadbloody rear ends andthey were kind oflimping around and,and then using theirwings to sorta balance.And then this ratwould come out andjust kinda nibble at themand, and go back in andso, I didn't thinkthat was going to be.The most compellingfootage.I thought the forcefeeding was gonna bethe most compellingfootage, but I guess thatreally caught a lot ofpeople's attention,because maybe peoplethink its' disgusting tohave a rat in a farm andeat it, and it'skind of something out ofa horror movie, I guess.I mean, to us it waskinda like this wholething is a horror movie.>> When Brian showed methe video footage that hehad gotten fromSonoma Foie Gras,you feel uncomfortable.Like you, no one wants tosee an image of the duckin bad shape.But are these ducks inbad shape because ofone unclean farm?Let's say, we walkedon a cattle farm.Would we havethe same reaction?>> Most peoplehave no clue abouthow animalsare raised for food.It's not always pretty tosee how our food is fed.So now the question is,is force feedinga problem?>> .I'm here to meetDoctor Elliot Katzthe founder of In Defenseof Animals to learn aboutthe production of foiegras from a medical andbiological stand point.Why don't you tell mea little bit aboutthe technical aspects offoie gras production andkinda, what yourmain concerns are froma medical issue?>> If you equated it toa person who weighedabout a 150 pounds.Forcing into a person'smouth approximately 30 to40 pounds of corn mash orfood.This excessive foodcauses the liver togradually expand.As the liver expands,what you've gotis a situation wherethere, the liverbasically starts todegenerate and it doesn'tdo the function thatit's supposed to do so,of getting rid ofthe toxins and poisons.Eventually what happensis the birds gointo seizures,diarrhea starts,vomiting starts and theyalso lose their balance.It's sort of,like somebody who hasbeen an alcoholic foryears.They finally kill thebirds, and they kill themafter they've gonethrough probably 3 weeksof total suffering.But to get as much moneyas possible from as manybirds as you can,of that enlarged liver.You wanna take it as far,until yousee that they'reabout ready to die.It's cruelty to bringany being to that level,where their,their body is just ,.Falling apart may beinternally poison.It reminds me ofNazi Germany where theyput the prisons inconcentration camps andstarved them to death.Well, this is almostthe opposite.>> So, how did youget involved withfoie gras and the raisingof animals for meat?>> Well,when Bryan Pease,the founder of APRL,Animal ProtectionRescue League,I had done,done undercover video.On the foie gras,and I saw the video.And at that point,his organization was verysmall, and he was beingthreatened with a lawsuitfor going inundercover or,or inappropriately to,to video.I called him up andsaid I will,in defense of animals.Will help cover yourlegal fees if youget sued, and I saw thissituation furtheras a veterinarian.And I said, to me there'sreason to file an animalabuse lawsuit.Let's put the guyout of business, orlet's do whateverwe have to do.>> So, essentially ourlawsuit was seeking tostop the force feeding,and argued that it was aviolation of California'sanimal cruelty law.And, as a result of that,the farm here inCalifornia actually wentalong withthe legislation, soit crafted a legislativecompromise,where they got thebenefit of a seven anda half year phase outperiod, during whichtime, they could continuetheir business practice.They got immunityfrom our lawsuit,and then, at the end ofthat, the production,as well as the sale offogra that's made byforce feeding is now-.Illegal to sell inCalifornia, notjust to produce.>> You had a lot ofhelp from Burtonwho's very high up.>> That ended upbeing the ace inthe sleeve right there.I don't know if you'vemet, a, John Burton ortalked to him at all but,when he say this he just,you know, he was at thetime the most powerful,other than the governor,prolly the most powerfulpolitician in California,who's the presidentof the senate,and he just pushedit through.But even withhis backing itstill wouldn't havegotten out of committee..Had we not had thatlegislative compromisethat caused the farm toactually goalong with it.>> You weren'ta lawyer whenyou started this,as you are now.>> I was probably more ofan anarchist who happenedto be in law school..I didn't think laws couldactually work andthen this was one ofthe things that mademe realize, wow,you actually canmake change, andyou can go through thedemocratic process, andyou can use litigation,andlegislation, andit actually works.The process canactually work, so.>> To hear Briantalk about it,he was just a kid whofound out there wassomething wrong goingon in his mind,the productionof foie gras.And he traced downwhere it was andhe's like,well I'm gonna,I'm just gonna bringthis to the light of day.Don't you know it,it got picked up bya local news station.Then Dr. Katz that wemet with picked up on,provided some monetaryand legal support, andthen it just keptspooling from there.It went tothe Speaker Pro Tem ofthe California Senate,John Burton,who introduced a bill,and law and behold youend up with a foie-grasban not that much later.>> .>> Not all veterinariansagree on the medical andbiological facts offoie-gras production.>> I was asked towalk through the farmat Sonoma Foie-gras.Last week, my first visitwas with within twentyfour hours of beingask to be there.So I believe thatno special accommodationscould be made.I found nosubstantiation forthe claims that theproponents are making asto what debilitationthe force feeding causes.>> Veterinarians we'vespoken to already,not a bird specialist.>> Okay.>> His opinion wasthat it's inherently.Torture is to forcefeed a bird, a duck, ora goose specifically.Why don't you tell me asan actual bird expert-.>> Okay.>> What do you thinkabout that?>> First of all, birds ingeneral don't have a gagreflex, and we humans do.So, for us, weanthropomorphize when wesee something going downa bird's throat, butit is not.Anything that'sdistressful to a bird.The opening tothe airways is up atthe base of their tongue.There's way more spacethere where the tube goesby it andit's not blockingtheir airway and I doknow that force feedingis done in sick birds.Sick ducks andit's not anything that'sharmful or we wouldn'tdo it in a sick duck.>> Right>> The other thing is,they have, as waterfowl.Because they'remigratory orat least let's say, theirancestors were migratory.They have the ability toput in fat on their bodyto allow them to go longdistances with a lot ofexcretion, and havethe energy for that, the,the reservoir for that.And one of the placeswhere theystore fat is intheir liver.And so the foie graspeople are takingadvantage of thatphysiological feature.And giving them a highenergy food that willdeposit a lot of fatinto their liver.>> Were you able toobserve one that itwas at the end of the-.>> Yes.>> And what was your,tell me your opinion.>> Okay, so, the,the birds that they toldme that tomorrow we'retaking those tothe processing plant,they were not actingdistressful as far asbreathing oranything like that.They were bright andalert.It's just, they didn'tdo much standing andwalking aroundthe pen andso my point ofview is that,that's probably notthat big of a deal fora bird to feel to heavyto stand for a day.>> So, if it was likea week's long thing.>> Yeah, then I wouldconsider that not okay.>> I was told that.The droppingsof these ducks.It's fundamentallydiarrhea and that,that's another sign thattheir welfare is bad.What do youthink of that?>> Their, their droppingsare poorly formed.I wouldn't callit diarrhea.Because they don't geta lot of roughage.If they were havinga diarrhea problem,they would be getting.Sores orthey would getting like,dirty feathersback there.And there wasno evidence ofclinical problems there.>> You know,that's anotherthing they point to,is they say that when theducks go into the barn,to the gavage, they arebright and nice looking.And then by the end,their feathers are dirty,they say, they say thatthey do have sores.That they.That their feathersaround theirneck are all messed up.>> I didn't seethat there.>> Strictly speakingabout force feeding,what, what are yourfeelings on itsimpact on animal welfarein ducks and in geese.>> Okay, I've only seenit done at Sonoma FoieGras and I would say,that what I witnessedthere was humane andthat they got a bum rap.>> Soyou actually testified inthe hearings forthe foie gras ban.>> Yes.>> For SB 1520.What was your feelingabout those proceedings?>> The biggestcriticism Ihad was going after foiegras in California,was one producer andone ranch, and, andjust painting them withthe same tar brush asoperations inother states.When ofthe senators there,they hadn't been to anyof those operations,how could they say histreatment was inhumane ifthey never saw whatwas going on there?And so,I felt like it wasa prejudicial decision..It's important forme to come here toSacramento because thisis actually the hub.This is where thisbill was passed.I'm meeting withLiz Figueroa,because I need to talkto someone who wasactually involved inthe legislature atthe time that theywere making this bill.>> Item number four,which is SB 1520,which we willnow be hearing.Senator Burton,you may begin.>> Yeah.Thank you, Madame.Chairs, member ofthe committee.We are talking aboutforce feeding andthe humanenessof the Act.>> Hi.>> Hi. How are you?>> Hey.I'm Dave.>> Hi, Dave.Nice to meet you.>> Why do you thinkSpeaker Burton was sointerested.In this particularsubject?>> Well there are twosubject matters.People getvery passionateabout in Sacramento.One is, how we takecare of our animals.And the other is whatwe're putting into ourstomachs, intoour bodies.>> And chefs really seeit as someone trying tolegislate what they.Can cook and what theircustomers can eat.>> I'm a progressiveCalifornian.I still believe thatpeople have the choice toeat whatever they want.And we should providethat opportunity.What California does,others follow.>> How'd the billinitially come tothe committee?It's a business.So business andprofessions,that type of bill wouldcome to my committee.And as chair of thatcommittee I had,had several conversationswith Guillermo Gonzaleswho owns Sunomofoie gras.And one of the reasonsis that my family's,is from El Salvador.I was very excited when Iknew this wasa businessman whohad done very wellin the Sonoma area.He had hired a numberof people, andI understood that hecame during the wars..Of El Salvador tothe United States andsuccessful businessman,so I gravitated tohim because I knewthe humanitarian work hehad done in El Salvador,so people are veryproud of him andI wanted to meet him.I told him,that I would not vote forthe piece of legislationand that he would need towork on the variouscommittee members.So I think he was hereat the capitol forsome time.Trying to educatelegislators asexactly what is theprocess to making fogra.>> Wow.Did you go to the farm?>> No.I did not.>> Why do you think hewas not successful?>> He could only do somuch.It was one business.It's not like you hadfive businesses inCalifornia, or ten.He had some-A restaurantorganizations butall in all he wasfighting it by himself.>> How often doesthe speaker protem introducea bill like that?Is that unusual?>> You know, politics is,becomes personalsometimes.It became personal forhim because somany of his colleagues orpeople that hecared about caredabout this issue.Either way.Mr Burton isright across fromus in the black shirt.>> Where?I dunno.Looks like New York.All right.>> Right across from you.>> Okay.>> In the black shirt.With the white hair.>> Sorry,if I'm interrupting youa second time insteadof interrupting you,while you're talking.My name's Dave.We're doing a documentaryon the foie gras ban.I'd reallyappreciate it ifyou would say a coupleof things to me.On the bill thatyou brought.>> John Burton wasthe most powerful man inthe senate, and alsothe sponsor of SB 1520,clearly the key playerin the Senate inthe passing ofthe foie gras ban.>> Senator,thank you so much fortaking the timeto speak with us.>> Fine.>> So SB 1520 was kindof your baby, is whatI'm told, that youwere very personallypassionate about it.what, what made you sopassionate aboutthe bill?>> Well, Ijust don't think theyought to torture animalsto give people somefood that probably isn'treally that healthy forthem, for openers.>> How much did youknow about the actualproduction of foie grasbefore the bill came in?>> Well,I knew about it years agobecause somebodysent me pictures of.Cramming food down thegooses throat in France.I hear, although I don'tknow it for a fact, butthere's a farmin North Dakota,that makes foie gras,and they have the,the ducks,the geese free ranging.And, it works.>> But they still useforce-feeding but they'regentle and they do it invery small quantities,would something likethat be acceptable?I don't know ifthey do for-,It as my understandingthat they eatthe stuff off the groundlike they do,there's a place overin Spain where theygobble up the feedon the ground.>> Did you visit Mr.Gonzalez's farmduring this, or?>> I had no reason to.>> Here's my actual,my real question.Do you think it'sa slippery slope,like first banningfoie gras to eventuallybanning meatproduction altogether?I mean,do you think it's,do you think we'reeventually on that slide?>> That's a dumbquestion.>> Well, it's notreally because wehave Proposition Two now.>> Well,Proposition Two what,says that you can't.Fucking create a bunchof animals together.You can't cut off,little calves' legs sothat there'd be.>> Sure.All good stuff.>> Veal.So, am I just seriously.Kristy?Wait fora minute.>> It's all good stuff.>> Well, I don't think.My answer's Idon't think so.>> So you don't thinkit's a slippery slope.>> I just said Idon't think so.>> All right.>> That's probably why Ididn't want todo this shit inthe first place, okay?Cuz it seems silly.But thank you,I'm out of here.>> Wait,why does it seem silly?>> I don't knowsilly is inthe eye of the beholder.Okay?I gave you my opinion.>> I appreciate it.>> That's my opinion.>> All right.>> Igotta see my girlfriend.>> All right, thank you.After going to Sacramentoto meet with Senator LizFigueroa and formerSpeaker John Burton,I still havenagging questions.I don't understandwhy the Senate was soeager to push the foiegras ban through.So I've come to Stockton,California tomeet with former SenatorMike Machado, who was notonly there duringthe foie gras fight, butis also a farmer toget his perspective..I had the opportunityto visit Mr.Gonzales operation.And I did so,during a feeding period.And some of thedescriptions that havebeen given in testimonywere not born out.In practice.>> All right, Senator.Thanks formeeting with me.And on the wayto your orchard,let's talk about kindof the foie gras ban.Senator Figueroa'sposition was everyone wason board, and thatthe Senators ended uppretty much in agreement.But I don't know, itjust didn't strike me asbeing 100 percent ofthe story which is why Iwanted to cometalk to you.>> It's 100 percentfrom some perspective.What wasinteresting aboutthat is, the farm thatraised the, the duck forfoie gras was inmy district andI think I was the onlyone to go out andvisit the farm, andto see the practices thatwere being used toraise the ducks.That I think wasdisappointment fromthe rest of myother colleagues.Not taking that kindof an interest.'Cuz I think anytime that youtake legislation,that's effectingthe livelihood or-.Of-Of people, oreffects an industryyou really have toresearch it so it's nota knee-jerk reaction tothe whims of somebody.Who says, well maybeI don't like it,I wanna get rid of it.>> What was yourimpression ofthe practicesat the farm?What did youfeel when youwent there to visit them?>> I thought itwas very humane.What they were doingdidn't look painful orout of the ordinary.It is a, was a practicethat one would look atand say, well, it'snot much different thana feedlot feeding cattle.The place was very clean,there was.Good sanitationpractices,that I would think havinggone through from myper, perspective, goodagricultural practicesfor certification formy food productsthat I serve.This type ofoperation would probablymeet the same standards.>> Right, and it didn'tseem like something thatthey were faking orputting on like a,just a show orwhitewashing it for yourpresentation, at leastnot that you could tell?>> No, no, and I, andI knew, I knew the farmmanager our kids went topreschool together soI mean, I knew thepractices, and it wasn't,you know,it was just saying,hey, I'm coming by andI showed up itwasn't something thathad a lot of lead time.And I saw what theydid on a normal day.If you had eggs forbreakfast they camefrom a layer operation.If you had bacon orsausage this morning itcame from a confinedfeeding a swine.If you had a chickensandwich forlunch it came froma broiler operation.Again a confinedfeeding operationwhere the animalsare fed beyond.What they would eat andbe a normal forage.If you ate beef.We're gonna havebeef tonight.That usually comes froma confined animalfeeding operation.Where they'regonna be fedwell beyond what theywould get in a grassland.>> Were you surprisedthat the bill passed?>> Oh, no.>> Looking tocast a character.You know, youhave the pro tem that'schampioning the bill.And his job is tomarshal votes.And soif you're a Democrat,there's a lot ofthings that come your wayif you're cooperative.And if you're not, otherthings can come your way.That's politics.You see that in anylegislative body.You see it inWashington today.>> How hard wasSenator Burton hittingon this one?>> For whatever reason hedeveloped this passion,he was very adamantabout trying tobe successfulwith his bill.And, in this case,I think he waswrong because he puta man out of business andhe did away withan industry.Had another legislaturepicked the legislation,it probably wouldn'thave passed.The bigger problem.Is not so much theparticulars of the bill.The bigger problem is,that type of a banwithout considering allthe full ramificationsfrom it can lead usdown a slippery slope,to where we willsee more actions.Taking placewithout looking atthe ramifications.And pretty soonsomebody wakes up andsays, well,what happened?Why isn't thatavailable anymore?>> 'Cuz today it'ssomething youdon't care about.Tomorrow it might besomething youdo care about.>> Yeah.Or if it could be,you know, people all ofa sudden decide that theydon't like the waycows are slaughtered.Well, that'swhat happens.>> What I realized doingthis documentary isthere is no waythat I was going toreally know what I feltabout force feeding,about gavage, unless Iwent to a farm myself.Enough.First of all, Sonoma Foieis out of business atthis point, soI can't visit SonomaFoie, which is the onlyfarm that was actuallyshut down by this ban.We tried to getpermission to filmthe force feeding processin the two farms thatare currently operatingin New York state, andfor whatever reasonthey didn't want toparticipate inthis documentary.So, and I go to someonewho produces it ina very small way, ina very artisanal way, tosee kind of what Foi Grascan be in its best light..>> I'm here atthe Elevage De Bouyssou,in the heart of the FoiGras region in France,Dordogne, to seehow it's done.Hey, I'm Dick>> Hi,I'm Natalie, welcome toElevage De Bouyssou.>> I've come becauseI really want tolearn aboutthe process ofmaking foie gras fromthe beginning to the end.>> Yeah.>> The geese come toyour farm whenthey are how old?>> One day old.>> So like.>> Oh,like this very small andthey are very fragileduring one month.They stay inside andthen we get to see them.They are outsideall day long.>> All right.Well in the U.S.all foie gras ismade from duck.>> Yeah.>> Here in Francea lot are made fromduck too butyou only use the geese.Why?>> Yeah.In our region,the traditionis goose liver.So, that's why wedo only geese..>> How longare they out here?outside, justliving like this?>> Geese live outsideduring four orfive months.>> So,like the first four orfive months of theirlife they are-.>> Yes.>> Free range entirely.>> Of course. Yeah.They need greenall the time.>> All right.There,that guy got a worm.I just saw himget a worm.Why don't you tell meabout the tradition offoie gras here in France.>> In France,we feed the geese since,a very long time.Since Egypt,the tradition arrivedin France, buthere, in Dodan,we are the first producerof goose liver in France.>> The foie grasis definitely,here in France at least,not an elitist food.No, absolutely everybodyhit foie gras.Everybody.>> I mean, I'm sureyou know in America,we have a lot ofcontroversy around.>> I know.>> Foie gras.So in California wehave a, a ban onproduction of foie gras.I'm sure you'veheard about it.What, what do youthink of this?>> I think thatCalifornian,love to drink,love to hit.But me, I can say thatpeople that are againstthe forced-feeding don'tknow anything about it,have never seenhow it is done.>> Since I thinkthe gavage,the force-feeding,is really atthe heart of whatpeople are upset about,why don't wego see gavage?>> So this is where wefeed the geese, inside.Okay, you're not goingto feed them right?>> No, not me.>> No?>> The specialist ismy husband Dennis..This one is a male..Males are strongerthan females.So you see it'svery quick....That's for the beginning.The four first days,that's what they eat.In one week,they will eat four orfive timesmore than that.>> Each,each session, huh?>> Each, yes..So the corn is old.The corn is not crushed.>> Right.So, you probablycouldn't test that on me,andstick it down my throat,huh?>> .>> No?>> No, no.You're not a goose.>> No.>> .>> All right.Okay, soseeing the gavage,can we take a lookat the liver?>> Yeah.We can seeour lab shere weprepare the liver.>> Okay.>> Let's go..>> This, this isthe finished foiegras from a goose.This.>> Yeah.This is a meal ofSaiwong 700 round.And you can see the bigpart and the smaller one.This is one liver.So when we open the,the, the, the goose,we take off the liver.But now wehave to choose,which qualityis this liver.So, we feel the texture,andif this liver is sweet,if it's not too grainy,if it's not too fatty.Probably it will bethe first quality.>> So, what's this one?>> This one is probablyfirst quality.>> Yeah.So how do you tell by.>> Look.If you put your finger.Like this.>> Mm-hm.>> You can see thatit's very, it's,it's sweet, it's.>> You know,it feels like what we inthe United Statescalled silly putty butit doesn't bounce,it like,it gives a little bit butit doesn't.>> Yeah,it's not too hard.>> It doesn't mush.It doesn't go .>> No, absolutely, andit's not too hard.If the liver is really,really hard, then it'snot a best quality.>> What happensif it's too hard?Too much fat,it renders out too much?>> Yes.It's probably too big,and too much fat.>> A lot of the ant,anti foie gras people,what they see here isthe product of torture.>> Yeah.You know, what do,what do you see?What does thisproduct mean to you?>> Oh, for me isthe best thing that wecan have inFrench cooking.We're very proud inFrance to produce thiskind of thing.We live with this.We, it's whole life.We, we think aboutfoie gras each day.We work for this.We love to eat it,and we are proud.We want to.Show to the peoplethat we are notbad people that loveto hurt the animal.I'm solidly not.We love our animals.But now.>> Yeah.Let's taste..>> It's for me?>> Uh-huh.>> I love it.>> That's delicious.>> It is?>> No, it really is.>> With wine itwill be better.>> Mm-hm.But listen, Natalie,I feel like I reallyunderstand a lotmore about how thisstuff is made.This is a deliciousproduct.Thanks so much.>> It was a pleasure.You're welcome.I hope you haveunderstood everythingabout foie gras.Now, you know everything..>> Yes.Well I didn't know quitewhat to expect coming andactually seeing the foiegras being made.I do know that the geeseweren't as kind offreaked out as Ithought they'd be.I feel that we've seenas good as foie grasmanufacturer isgonna get.So if you're not.For foie gras basedon what happens here.I dont think you'reever going tobe for foie gras.On January 7th,2015 a U.S.district judge overturnedthe California ban onfoie gras because itviolated federal lawalready regulatingthe poultry industry.With this current ruling,the ban against foiegras in California iseffectively over butwhether or not it wasabout the ethicaltreatment of animals orabout politics,Guillermo Gonzalez'sfarm is finished.But the battle isfar from over.Animal rights activistsare encouragingCalifornia'sAttorney General tofile an appeal..>> Who justifiessuffering?>> 99 percent of the-.>> Who does that?You know, who does that?Nazis, slave owners,women beaters.>> This is something,this is.>> So every,99 percent of the humanbeings are eating,they're eating meat.>> How many animalsdied today?>>on your rights?>> We have justbegun to fight.\n"