2023 Author: Cody Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 11:20
The strong title would be the France says no to Foie gras.
But a similar title could lead one to believe that, troubled by the cruelty of the gavage (a tube stuck in the throat of the geese to forcibly fatten the liver), the French have finally decided to give up their beloved pate.
Not so, it is a temporary ban: 4 months of production stoppage caused by an epidemic of avian flu that is affecting European poultry farming.
A virus strain of the so-called bird flu - H5N1, which is easily transmitted from infected animals to humans - was found on a chicken farm in the Dordogne. Hence the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The measure was requested in 18 départements in the South-East of France: during the months of the ban, breeders will not be allowed to own geese or ducks in their boxes.
The French Ministry of Agriculture was quick to reassure farmers: it will allocate compensation of 130 million euros to cope with the losses in the coming months. They will be 4000 farmers who will find themselves temporarily unemployed.
Currently, France produces 75% of the foie gras distributed on the world market, and it is estimated there will be a drop in availability of well 9 million ducks, resulting in soaring prices.