Foie gras—which literally means "fatty liver" in French—is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese
with metal pipes until their livers swell up to ten times their normal size. Many birds become so sick
from the process that they can't even walk. All this, just so people can eat their liver?
In the News
"Group to protest foie gras"CBS 42:
"Vandals target restaurants"News Channel 8:
"Fight over foie gras heats up"FOX 7:
"Foie gras protest"NBC 36:
"2 Restaurants Vandalized"
The Austin Chronicle:
"Foie gras fracas"
Austin-American Statesman:
"Foie gras protests to continue"
"Foie gras restaurants vandalizeed"
"Debate over foie gras heats up in Austin"
TIME Magazine:
"Fight for Your Right to Pâté"
Get Involved
Austin is known for some of the best fine-dining restaurants in our state; we have an opportunity to set a compassionate example for other cities in Texas by prohibiting the sale of foie gras.
Read on for updates on the campaign to make Austin foie gras-free, and click here for information on how you can help.
March 4, 2008
New No Foie Gras In Austin restaurant cards
Next time you find yourself walking past one of the restaurants in Austin that sell foie gras, drop off one of these cards asking that they remove foie gras from their menu. If any of your friends or family dine at one of the restaurants, ask them to leave one of the cards with their check the next time they visit.
Click here to download and print a sheet of cards, and stick 'em in your wallet! Be sure to e-mail us to let us know how you use them, and what the restaurants say to you.
February 25, 2008
Foie gras no more at Grape Vine Market and the Hilton
Grape Vine Market and the Hilton's Finn & Porter restaurant are the latest Austin area businesses to stop selling foie gras after animal advocates with Central Texas Animal Defense (CTAD) provided them with undercover video taken inside foie gras farms across the United States, Canada, and Europe. The video reveals shocking evidence of cruelty to animals: metal feeding pipes being rammed down birds' throats as they struggle to get away and animals who are so diseased from the force-feeding process that they are unable to walk.
In an email sent to CTAD on Saturday, Grape Vine Market co-founder Chuck Huffaker said, "Foie Gras has been taken off GrapeVine Market's shelves. Gourmet buyers have been instructed not to order Foie Gras any longer. Not even for special orders." Hilton Executive Vice President Ken Smith informed CTAD last week that Finn & Porter will be removing foie gras from its menu in Austin in March, and that Hilton is "currently engaged in a comprehensive review" of foie gras sales at all of its hotels.
"Most people don't have any idea how foie gras is pronounced, let alone how it's produced," says Noah Cooper, Campaign Coordinator for CTAD. "Hats off to Grape Vine and Hilton for ending their support of this sadistic industry."
Grape Vine Market and Finn & Porter join a growing list of stores and restaurants that have stopped selling foie gras in Austin including Whole Foods Market, the Driskill Grill, the Judges' Hill Restaurant, Barton Creek Resort's Hill Country Dining Room, Lakeway Resort and Spa, and Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa.
February 16, 2008
New York foie gras farm sued by workers
Besides the fact that it's cruel to animals and bad for human health, it looks like there's yet another reason to boycott foie gras ...
According to the Times Herald-Record, upstate New York's La Belle Foie Gras is being sued by current and former employees who say that the company did not pay them minimum wage or compensate them for overtime. The class-action lawsuit filed by the Workers' Rights Law Center claims that La Belle—one of three foie gras farms in the United States—underpaid as many as 200 of its employees, many of whom are immigrants. La Belle and other foie gras farms employ undocumented workers to perform less desirable jobs like force-feeding and slaughtering animals, and unfortunately, as this case shows, often don't even pay a living wage. The reality is that undocumented immigrants are treated more like indentured servants than employees. It should come as no surprise that companies like La Belle that torture animals to make a buck also exploit humans.
Dan Werner of the Workers' Rights Law Center told the Record:
"The foie gras liver doesn't resemble the raw, natural state of that duck's liver."
"It's much more of a manufacturing process."
(Read more ...)
We hope these workers get the compensation they deserve when all is said and done, and that this story is a wake up call to Austin restaurants like Restaurant Jezebel and Jeffrey's that still sell foie gras.
February 11, 2008
Ron and Peggy Weiss Torture Animals
Thanks to everyone who helped make the first foie gras protest at Jeffrey's Restaurant & Bar a success! A total of 12 activists with Central Texas Animal Defense held a demonstration in front of Jeffrey's (1204 West Lynn Street) on Thursday, showing customers the truth about what happens to ducks raised for Jeffrey's foie gras. A source on Jeffrey's waitstaff informed CTAD that owners Ron and Peggy Weiss held a staff meeting on Wednesday to discuss the protest, however, Mr. and Mrs. Weiss still refuse to remove foie gras from their restaurant's menu. To help Ron and Peggy see the light, CTAD is bringing the campaign against foie gras a little closer to home ...
This week, Ron and Peggy Weiss' neighbors will be receiving one of these fliers, asking them to help convince the restaurateurs to follow the example of other leading Austin restaurants who have stopped selling foie gras after learning how it's produced. You can help by writing a polite letter to Mr. and Mrs. Weiss at 1105 Enfield Rd., Austin, TX 78703, or by calling (512) 478-3711. Ask Ron and Peggy to do the right thing and stop selling foie gras at Jeffrey's forever, and let them know that you and your family and friends will be boycotting their restaurant until they do so.
The next protest at Jeffrey's will be held this Thursday, February 14, from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Click here for a full schedule of upcoming protests.
P.S. Shout out to Justin, our favorite Jeffrey's valet. Your yellow polo shirt really brings out your eyes. See you this Thursday, Jus' (can we call you Jus'?), and every Thursday after that until your boss stops selling foie gras.
January 21, 2008
Foie gras protests at Jeffrey's starting in February
For around eight months now, die-hard activists with Central Texas Animal Defense have been holding twice-weekly foie gras protests in front of Restaurant Jezebel on Congress Avenue. Despite the fact that Jezebel's owner and chef Parind Vora refuses to do the right thing and remove foie gras from his menu, the protests have been immensely successful. Each Tuesday and Friday night since June, countless Restaurant Jezebel customers (or, on some nights, "customer") and passersby have been confronted with graphic images of animals tortured for foie gras. Many people are so disgusted to learn how ducks are force-fed to produce foie gras that they turn around and walk the other way.
Now it's time to bring the campaign to the doorsteps of other restaurants in the area that still sell foie gras! Starting February 7, CTAD will be holding protests outside Jeffrey's Restaurant and Bar every Thursday from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Protests at Restaurant Jezebel will continue to be held every Monday from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Click here for a full schedule of upcoming protests. If you have an hour to spare, please come help out! If you can't make it, please call, write, e-mail, and fax Jeffrey's and Jezebel and give 'em a piece of your mind.
Restaurant Jezebel
914C Congress Ave.
Phone: (512) 499-3999
Fax: (512) 499-3999
E-mail: info@restaurantjezebel.com and parind37@yahoo.com
Jeffrey's
1204 W. Lynn St.
Phone: (512) 477-5584
Fax: (512) 474-7279
E-mail: ron@jeffreysofaustin.com and peggy@jeffreysofaustin.com
Looking for more ways to get involved? Click here to learn how.
October 12, 2007
CTAD talks foie gras with "On the Fringe" on KVRX
Earlier this week, Central Texas Animal Defense appeared on "On the Fringe" on KVRX 91.7FM to discuss the campaign to make Austin foie gras-free. If you didn't catch the show, you can listen to it below, or click here to download the MP3.
Thanks to "On the Fringe" for helping bring attention to this important issue. Be sure to tune in every Monday from 7-8 p.m.
October 9, 2007
Austin foie gras campaign mentioned in TIME Magazine article
... To some chefs the anti-foie gras movement feels like the first step towards demands for completely meat-free menus. Chef Parind Vora, whose Austin, Tex., restaurant Jezebel has been subjected to twice weekly protests by a group called Central Texas Animal Defense, believes that animal rights activists are targeting foie gras because it's a small industry with little resources to fight back. It's also food often associated with the upper crust, allowing the class issues to color the debate.
Click here to read the full article. Again, the article is pretty biased, but the fact that a huge publication like TIME is even writing about this issue is a big step.
Oh, and big props to our article-mates Hugs for Puppies. We <3 you ladies and gents.
October 4, 2007
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort ends sale of foie gras!
The Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa announced on Thursday that its Stories Fine-Dining Restaurant will no longer sell foie gras. The move comes less than two weeks after Central Texas Animal Defense sent hotel management a copy of an undercover video taken inside Stories' former foie gras supplier. In an e-mail sent to CTAD, General Manager Steve Dewire stated, "We do not plan on offering anything with foie gras going forward." Hyatt Regency Lost Pines joins the growing list of Austin-area hotels and restaurants who have removed foie gras from their menus after learning how ducks raised for their livers are treated, including the Driskill Grill, the Judges' Hill Restaurant, the Barton Creek Resort's Hill Country Dining Room, and the Lakeway Resort and Spa.
"If foie gras farms treated dogs or cats the way they treat ducks, they'd be thrown in jail for cruelty to animals," says Noah Cooper, Campaign Coordinator for CTAD, who is leading the effort to ban foie gras across Central Texas. "I applaud Hyatt Regency Lost Pines and its management for sending a message to foie gras producers that responsible restaurant owners won't support such a sadistic industry."
Central Texas Animal Defense hopes to convince other Austin area hotels and restaurants to follow in the Hyatt's footsteps. CTAD will be holding a protest outside the Four Seasons at 98 San Jacinto Boulevard on Friday, October 5, from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., asking people to boycott the hotel and its Trio Restaurant until it stops selling foie gras.
August 22, 2007
Letter to TABC: Foie gras restaurant serving alcohol to minors?
This afternoon the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) received a letter about Restaurant Jezebel from Central Texas Animal Defense Campaign Coordinator Sarah Pauley. In the letter, Sarah details some shady business that she and other CTAD activists have witnessed at Restaurant Jezebel, particularly some seemingly underage kids being given free alcohol by Jezebel waiters. (Anything to make your restaurant look like it's busy, right guys?) The letter also describes the equally-shady affairs of Restaurant Jezebel's foie gras supplier, Hudson Valley Foie Gras.
Click here to read Sarah's letter in full. After you do that, please call TABC Lt. Robert Saenz at (512) 451-0231 and ask that he review Restaurant Jezebel's beer-and-wine license. Unless of course you're a 12-year old looking for the b00ze, in which case you can call Restaurant Jezebel at (512) 499-3999. The secret code is "stop selling foie gras." Don't worry if they hang up on you, that's just a test ... call back and say it again.
July 31, 2007
Foie gras protester assaulted at Restaurant Jezebel
"Restaurant Jezebel has made it abundantly clear that it supports horrific cruelty to animals," says Sarah. "It comes as no surprise that a restaurant that condones shoving pipes down birds' throats to produce foie gras would employ thugs as waiters."
Despite Restaurant Jezebel's attempt to use physical force to stop protesters, Sarah and the rest of CTAD will continue to hold demonstrations outside of the restaurant until it permanently removes foie gras from its menu. If you'd like to help out, please click here for a calendar of upcoming protests. And please call Restaurant Jezebel at (512) 499-3999 and let owner Parind Vora know what you think of his restaurant's refusal to stop selling foie gras.
July 13, 2007
Window broken at Austin foie gras restaurant
Jeffrey's Restaurant owner Ron Weiss arrived to work on Thursday to find that his storefront window had been broken by a brick, an act which he suspects to be caused by his restaurant's sale of foie gras. Jeffrey's is one of several local restaurants who have been targeted for serving the cruel "delicacy." Central Texas Animal Defense recently sent undercover video footage taken inside American foie gras farms to Jeffrey's and more than a dozen other restaurant owners to ask that they remove the dish from their menus. CTAD said in a letter to Weiss sent on Friday:
"While it is understandable that anyone would be outraged after finding out that birds on foie gras farms have metal pipes rammed down their throats and are force-fed until they are so sick they are literally unable to walk, CTAD does not condone these actions ... [Our] hope is that something positive can come out of these unfortunate and, as you so succinctly put it, reckless acts. In an effort to revive a positive and intelligent discussion of the humane treatment of animals, [we] would love to meet with you and your chefs to discuss why we feel Jeffrey's should remove foie gras from its menu."
While Central Texas Animal Defense focuses on public education, it's hard to shed a tear for the windows of restaurants whose owners knowingly support horrific cruelty to animals. If you'd like to help convince Jeffrey's to stop serving foie gras, please call the restaurant at 512-477-5584. Also, please call owner Ron Weiss and his wife Peggy at 512-478-3711 and let them know that selling foie gras is cruel and bad for their business.
July 5, 2007
Austin restaurants serving foie gras get redecorated
Earlier this week, two of the restaurants in Austin who have refused to stop selling foie gras had the slogan "fuck foie gras" painted across their storefronts. The person behind the "artwork" has posted a few pictures of their work at vegangstar.angelfire.com.
(UPDATE: This Web site is no longer available.)
Restaurant Jezebel: Think they get the message yet?
As stated in the article below, Central Texas Animal Defense does not condone vandalism. It's just evil and immoral. Morality certainly never supercedes legality, because laws are super important. Never break the law. It's just not right to damage property (inanimate objects incapabable of pain or suffering) in the name of saving non-human animals (living beings capable of pain and suffering, not to mention a wide variety of other complex emotions).
Here's the article from the Austin-American Statesman:
Vandals hit eateries over foie gras
Two downtown restaurants that serve foie gras, the fatty duck liver targeted by animal rights activists, were vandalized early Tuesday.
Teresa Wilson, chef and co-owner of Aquarelle on Rio Grande Street, and Parind Vora, chef-owner of Restaurant Jezebel on Congress Avenue, reported that their eateries had been spray painted with anti-foie gras slogans. Jezebel was recently singled out by a local animal rights group conducting a campaign against foie gras, which critics say is produced inhumanely.
Wilson said the vandals painted restaurant's antique doors and sign.
"Thank goodness we were able to get it all off," she said.
Noah Cooper of the Central Texas Animal Defense said acts of this type hurt his cause.
"We're entirely focused on public outreach and educating people," he said. "We don't condone vandalism."
If you're interested in helping us get foie gras off Austin restaurants' menus, click here for info on upcoming protests. Hope to see you there!
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