Production of foie gras with force feeding is still allowed or even mandatory in the EU because of a regulation that defines minimum weights for the livers of ducks and geese that are to be sold as the specialty food product.
An expert group for agricultural markets convened by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) is expected to discuss this animal welfare issue on Thursday. Animal welfare organisations hope that the group will propose a ban on the practice and the removal of the minimum liver weight requirement from the regulation.
The outdated liver weights were established in 1991 and modified in 1995 based on studies commissioned by foie gras producers. Such weights cannot be reached without recurring force-feeding and comes with high mortality rates and extreme suffering for the birds. The NGOs stress that foie gras can be produced by alternative methods without force feeding.
Force-feeding entails forcing a funnel into the birds’ throats and pushing great quantities of food into their stomach to induce an abnormal growth of the liver, up to ten times the normal size. The practice occurs three times a day, starting from when the birds are only 12 weeks old and continuing for over two weeks, after which the birds are slaughtered.
Only five out of the 27 member states allow force feeding: France, Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain, and the Belgian region of Wallonia (the other two regions have already banned it).
The current weight requirement creates a market distortion within the EU because it penalizes farmers with higher animal welfare standards. Goose and duck farmers where force-feeding is already banned cannot label their product as “foie gras”. In practice, France holds an almost monopoly position in the EU market because of the requirement.
In a written question to European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, MEPs from across political party groups underlined that maintaining the requirement is be a blow against animal welfare and serves the interest of a minority of farmers with low standards. A recent public consultation by the European Commission showed that 90 % of the respondents were against force feeding.
“No impact assessment of animal welfare, consumer preference or fair competition within the EU concerning such an arbitrary rule has ever been conducted,” commented Adolfo Sansolini, advisor to Eurogroup for Animals and GAIA, Belgium's leading animal rights organisation. “The weight requirement undermines the image of the EU as a champion of animal welfare."
The Brussels Times
