Foie gras diplomatic spat between France and Germany intensifies
By Henry Samuel, Paris
August 21, 2011
A diplomatic row between France and Germany over foie gras has intensified with one minister warning it could have “global repercussions”.
This time, however it had nothing to do with disagreement on how to save the euro or President Nicolas Sarkozy’s over-tactile handling of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The bone of contention is over foie gras and a leading German food fair’s decision to ban the French delicacy, made from the liver of force-fed geese or ducks.
Foie gras producers are furious after being told their liver pâté is not welcome at the biennial Anuga food fair in Cologne in October.
Fair organisers caved in to pressure from animal rights groups who claim foie gras production is cruel.
To create the fattened liver needed for foie gras, ducks or geese must be force-fed to bloat their livers by up to ten times their normal size – a technique known in French as gavage.
French law permits foie gras production as part of its “protected cultural and gastronomic heritage” – Gallic cultural exception oblige.
While the practice is banned in Germany, the consumption of foie gras is legal and the Germans consume 170 tons of the pate every year – hence the French outrage.
In a sign of rising diplomatic tensions, Pierre Lellouche, France’s external trade minister, yesterday summoned Germany’s ambassador to Paris and called on his government to “exercise the strongest authority over the (fair) organisers and get them to respect European law” (on free movement and non-discrimination of goods).
“This is anything but anecdotal,” he said, warning that the boycott would have “global repercussions”.
His stark warning came days after the French agriculture minister, Bruno le Maire, wrote to his German counterpart, Ilse Aigner, asking her to overturn the ban and threatening to boycott the opening ceremony.
“It is important for the French foie gras sector to be present at a fair visited by numerous buyers in the period before the end of the year celebrations,” Mr Le Maine wrote. “If this exclusion is confirmed, I cannot see how I will be able to take part in the opening.”
France “rigorously applied all [European] community regulations regarding the wellbeing of animals,” Mr Le Maine insisted. Mr Aigner dismissed the letter, saying it was up to the organisers to decide on the issue.
The affair has sparked a war of words between those for and against foie gras. Joining the fray was Brigitte Bardot, the film star-turned animal rights activist, who last week urged a German minister not to bow to pressure to overturn the ban.
Animal rights campaigners claim that as few as 10 per cent of French foie gras producers respect a new EU rule forbidding housing birds in individual cages where they are unable to flap their wings to breath more easily.
Alain Fauconnier, a Socialist member of France’s senate from the Aquitaine region, where most French foie-GRAS is made, said: “It’s unbelievable. It’s like banning German sausages in France. The economic cost is enormous for us because Germany is an important market.” He has called on meat and poultry producers to boycott the German fair if the “totally discriminatory measure” is upheld.
About 37 million ducks and 700,000 geese are slaughtered each year to make French foie gras, and France accounts for 75 per cent of global production. The technique is said to have first appeared in 2500BC, when the Egyptians noticed that migratory geese were able to stock fat in their liver in preparation for long-distance flights. They found the taste succulent, so started reproducing the natural phenomenon by fattening geese with figs and cereals.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8666694/Foie-gras-diplomatic-spat-between-France-and-Germany-intensifies.html
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Vegans and vegetarians are not the only ones to applaud this move to revamp and upgrade the vegetarian menu of the best restaurant in Pampanga. Even meat lovers are excited by the prospect of enjoying a delectable meal comprised of healthy vegetarian dishes, a good reprieve from their usual meat laden meals. Wine lovers applaud the effort of this restaurant in Clark Pampanga to pair gourmet vegetarian recipes with fine vintage wines.
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Restaurant in Clark Pampanga revamps menu, adding delectable dishes at affordable, wine friendly too, certainly a great place to eat while in Pampanga. Vegans, vegetarians and health conscious diners welcome the news that Yats Leisure has upgraded its vegetarian menu of fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar in Clark. At the same time, this restaurant in Pampanga also makes the healthy cuisine wine friendly for the wine lovers in Manila, Clark, Pampanga. The guests that frequently visit this top rated restaurant in Angeles City, Clark Philippines, for this special menu are not only vegetarians and vegans but also meat lovers who welcome a reprieve from their usual meat laden diets to enjoy a delectable vegetarian meal. Yats is generally considered the best restaurant for gourmet vegetarian food. Wine lovers are particularly excited about the fact that these recipes are designed to pair splendidly with wine.
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How to get to this fine-dining restaurant in Clark Philippines? Once you get to Clark Freeport, go straight until you hit Mimosa. After you enter Mimosa, stay on the left on Mimosa Drive, go past the Holiday Inn and Yats Restaurant (green top, independent 1-storey structure) is on your left. Just past the Yats Restaurant is the London Pub.
Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar
Mimosa Drive past Holiday Inn, Mimosa Leisure Estate,
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, Philippines 2023
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3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
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