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Volu me 105 Issue 62
Bill to ban French delicacy introduced to the House PAIGE L. JINBO News Editor Hoping to prohibit the sale and future production of foie gras in Hawai‘i, two animal rights advocates have introduced a bill to the state legislature. “(Foie gras) is a terrible industry, where the heart of the cruelty lies in the production,” Jane Shiraki said. Shiraki, along with Barbara Steinberg, has campaigned for years to ban the French delicacy in the state. Foie gras, fattened duck or goose liver, is created through forced feeding of waterfowl. According to Shiraki, to produce the fatty liver, a 12-inch metal or plastic tube must be inserted into the throats of the birds, three times a day for up to four weeks, while an abnormally large amount of food is forcibly fed to each bird by a machine. During this process, the liver will expand to 10 to 12 times its normal size. “The birds are sickened, to the brink of death, and can barely walk, breathe or exert any effort due to being so deteriorated,” she explained. “Sometimes, these animals will literally explode internally from the forced feeding.” The birds are force
fed a corn mash mixture that has no nutritional value, but will produce a fatty liver. The amount of food is the equivalent of 44 pounds of pasta, Shiraki said. However, factory farmers of the gourmet liver have made the argument that prior to migrating, the birds will gorge themselves. “ Yes, this is true, but when they gorge themselves, their livers swell to t wice the size of its normal size, not 10 times,” Shiraki said. Furthermore, in an e-mail from Demian Dressler, veterinarian at Maui’s South Shore Veterinary Care, the forced feeding practice leads to the liver becoming diseased. “ The hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) that aff licts the animals as a consequence of the practice is an actual disease syndrome and a recognized medical problem,” Dressler said. Last Monday, the opening day for the state legislature, the ban proposal was introduced and became House Bill 77. HB 77 mirrors C a l i f o r n i a ’s ban of
foie gras. In 2004, then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that would end the forced feeding of ducks, geese and other birds to produce the French food by 2012. “The entire process of creating foie gras is very inhumane and it causes pain and suffering,” said Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland (D — Sand Island, Kalihi, Liliha, Nu‘uanu, Pauoa, Pu‘unui). Chun Oakland was one of the co-introducers of the bill. “We need to treat animals humanely and with compassion,” she added. While production of foie gras doesn’t occur in Hawai‘i, HB 77 would prevent it from ever occurring. Steinberg,
who spearheaded the campaign against foie gras, suggested people indulge in faux foie gras instead. Faux foie gras entails the waterfowl gorging themselves on their own time. During this process, the livers don’t become diseased. “These products are still considered by the industry a comparable substitute, yet the product is made without the suffering and torture of force f e e d -
D H WRIGHT / FLICKR
ing,” Steinberg said. The next step for Shiraki and Steinberg is to wait for their bill to be heard. In addition, there is a Senate version that’s being circulated through the state Senate for signatures. By Wednesday, there should also be a SB for the ban on fois gras. “It’s appalling that we treat these animals like a commodity,” Steinberg said. “Foie gras is the cruelest of all factory farming and is not good for the masses.”