(The Center Square) – While recognized as a delicacy around the world, state lawmakers may advance a proposal Wednesday to outlaw foie gras and the practice of “force-feeding” across Washington.
The popular French cuisine dates back to ancient Egypt and involves force-feeding a duck or goose to fatten its liver. California was the first U.S. state to ban the practice in 2012, with New York City following in 2019. Several European nations have also banned the practice.
House Bill 1735 would do so in Washington, prohibiting the sale, possession, transportation and/or distribution of foie gras produced via force-feeding. If approved, indulging in the delicacy, which critics call a product of cruelty, would result in a $1,000 fine per violation.
“I had trouble coming forward with what I really want to tell you,” Rep. Lisa Parshley, D-Olympia, said during a public hearing on Friday, “because it’s pretty graphic and it’s pretty horrifying.”
Parshley, a career veterinarian, said she didn’t know anyone in her field who supports the practice. She proposed HB 1735 to end force-feeding, which she called “truly awful.” The bill only allows for one exception: when directed by a veterinarian to improve the bird’s health.
She attempted to spare the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee the details during last Friday’s hearing but to little avail. She described birds ballooning to ten times their natural size, with their bones fracturing under the weight.
“I have placed feeding tubes in animals. I have done it for their health. I have done it to provide nutrition, but in every circumstance, that animal is either under anesthesia or deeply sedated,” Parshley said, “because it is an extremely uncomfortable and hazardous process.”
However, in the case of force-feeding birds to produce foie gras, anesthesia and sedation aren’t as common. Instead, Parshley said they struggle, with around 50% or more birds dying before harvest. Many also carry diseases that have caused several bird flu outbreaks across France.
An investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, found that a New York operation expected a worker to feed around 500 birds three times a day. The pace ruptured organs and caused many birds to die, with workers incentivized when they kept it under 50 a month.
When she proposed the bill, Parshley was only aware of one force-feeding farm in Washington but noted that it might’ve closed. She tied the local impact to the sale of foie gras in Seattle.
Her proposal extends to the transportation and distribution of foie gras products produced via force-feeding as well. This means it wouldn’t matter if you produced the delicacy yourself or bought it at an upscale restaurant; the food carries the weight of a civil infraction with a $1,000 fine.
While a concerned resident and animal rights groups spoke in support of the bill, HB 1735 received just one dissenting testimony. Julia Gorton, director of state government affairs with the Washington Hospitality Association, noted that it regulates how birds are fed, not treated.
She cited one facility with a 200-acre cage-free farm that produces foie gras; however, when asked whether they operate in Washington, Gorton conceded, acknowledging that she was unaware of any facilities in the state. She was there to testify on behalf of the restaurant industry.
More than a dozen high-end establishments in and around Seattle have foie gras on the menu, highlighting its popularity among the affluent.
“I do just want to acknowledge the descriptions that we heard from the sponsor are incredibly horrifying, right? But this bill does not regulate that treatment,” Gorton testified, “so we respectfully ask that you not move the bill forward.”
The House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee will reconvene on Wednesday, Feb. 12, for an executive session on HB 1735.
