Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What is the number one producer of foie gras in the world?
The technique of gavage dates as far back as 2500 BC, when the ancient Egyptians began keeping birds for food and deliberately fattened the birds through force-feeding.[6] Today, France is by far the largest producer and consumer of foie gras, though it is produced and consumed worldwide, particularly in other European nations, the United States, and China.[7]
Traditionally, foie gras was primarily produced with geese, but in the 1960s the majority of farmers began to use mulards. Geese are more expensive to maintain than ducks (they are larger and more aggressive), and the more temperamental muscovies did not accept the process of gavage (force feeding) as readily as Pekins, causing the quality of the foie gras to suffer. This problem was avoided by the introduction of mulards. These hybrids have also become extremely common in countries where foie gras is not produced.
Since 1997, the number of European countries producing foie gras has halved. Only five countries still produce foie gras: Belgium, Romania, Spain, France and Hungary.
Given the increased internationalization of cuisines and food supply, foie gras is increasingly found in hot preparations not only in the United States, but in France and elsewhere. Duck foie gras ("foie gras de canard") has slightly lower fat content and is generally more suitable in texture to cooking at high temperature than is goose foie gras ("foie gras d'oie"), but chefs have been able to cook goose foie gras employing similar techniques developed for duck, albeit with more care.
In 2016, it was reported that France produces an estimated 75% of the world's foie gras and southwestern France produces approximately 70% of that total. In 2016, it can retail for upwards of $65 a pound.[51]
A number of retailers have ceased the sale of foie gras produce following campaigns and protests over production methods. These include Amazon.co.uk, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Lidl, House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols.
A lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on July 2, 2012, seeking to overturn the California foie gras law on the ground that it is unconstitutionally vague. The plaintiffs are two foie gras producers and a southern California restaurant group that served foie gras until the ban took effect. On July 18, 2012, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson denied the plaintiffs' request for a temporary injunction that would have immediately suspended the foie gras ban. On September 19, 2012, Judge Wilson denied the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the law.
Prior to his FOIA activism and his associated legal efforts, Ryan Shapiro was a leader in the movement to ban foie gras in the State of California. Shapiro, along with colleague Sarahjane Blum, produced the documentary "Delicacy of Despair: Behind the Closed Doors of the Foie Gras Industry" and created a website (www.gourmetcruelty.com), both of which expressly advocate for a ban on the production and consumption of foie gras. Through the film and website, as well as his support for anti-foie gras activists and protesters whose efforts included exposé-style investigations of companies such as Hudson Valley Foie Gras in New York and Sonoma Foie Gras in California, Shapiro played an important role in generating support for the anti-foie gras movement that led to California successfully but controversially banning the product. (Hudson Valley Foie Gras is largely the subject of "Delicacy of Despair".)
The demand for foie gras in the Far East is such that China has become a sizeable producer.[39] Madagascar is a small but rapidly growing producer of high quality foie gras.[40]
Producers outside France do not always force-feed birds to produce fattened livers considered to be foie gras, instead allowing them to eat freely, termed ad libitum. Interest in alternative production methods has grown recently due to ethical concerns in gavage-based foie gras production. Such livers are alternatively termed fatty goose liver, ethical foie gras, or humane foie gras. The British supermarket chain Waitrose also provides a version of ethical foie gras which it calls (and has been trademarked) faux gras.[80] This is not to be confused with the American product by the same name, produced by Regal Vegan, which has the U.S. trademark for faux gras, and is actually a vegan, nut-based spread.[81]
In 2012, France produced around 19,000 tonnes of foie gras representing 75% of the world's production in that year. This required the force-feeding of around 38 million ducks and geese.[45] World production in 2015 is estimated as 27,000 tonnes.[46]
Generally, French preparations of foie gras are made over low heat, as fat melts faster from the traditional goose foie gras than the duck foie gras produced in most other parts of the world. American and other New World preparations, typically employing duck foie gras, have more recipes and dish preparations for serving foie gras hot, rather than cool or cold.
Some countries have produced foie gras only sporadically in the past. For example, in 1996, Turkey had a peak year of production with 20 tonnes of foie gras valued at US$39,000 being exported.[38]
In other parts of the world foie gras is served in dishes such as foie gras sushi rolls, in various forms of pasta or alongside steak tartare or atop a steak as a garnish.
Additionally, there is pâté de foie gras, mousse de foie gras (either must contain 50% or more foie gras), parfait de foie gras (must contain 75% or more foie gras); and other preparations (no legal obligation established).
In 2014, the whole of the EU produced approximately 25,000 tonnes of foie gras – 23,000 tonnes of duck foie gras and 2,000 tonnes of goose foie gras.[47] The same year, France was producing 72% of world foie gras production of which 97% was from ducks.[48]
Gavage-based foie gras production is controversial due to the animal welfare consequences of the force-feeding procedure, intensive housing and husbandry, an enlarged liver and the potential for being detrimental to human health. Some countries find foie gras to be "morally objectionable".[93] One EU committee report noted that up to 1998, there was only a small number of scientific studies on the welfare of birds used for foie gras production, however, the Committee found sufficient evidence to conclude that "force-feeding, as currently practised, is detrimental to the welfare of the birds."[94] The industry repeatedly faces accusations of torture and cruelty.[54]
Raw foie gras can be roasted, sauteed, pan-seared (poêlé) or (with care and attention), grilled. As foie gras has high fat content, contact with heat needs to be brief and therefore at high temperature, lest it burn or melt. Optimal structural integrity for searing requires the foie gras to be cut to a thickness between 15 and 25mm (½ – 1inch), resulting in a rare, uncooked center. Some chefs prefer not to devein the foie gras, as the veins can help preserve the integrity of the fatty liver. It is increasingly common to sear the foie gras on one side only, leaving the other side uncooked. Practitioners of molecular gastronomy such as Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck restaurant first flash-freeze foie gras in liquid nitrogen as part of the preparation process.[88]
Gavage-based foie gras production is controversial, due mainly to the animal welfare concerns about force-feeding, intensive housing and husbandry, and enlarging the liver to 10 times its usual volume. A number of countries and jurisdictions have laws against force-feeding, and the production, import or sale of foie gras; even where it is legal, a number of retailers decline to stock it.
The term ethical foie gras or humane foie gras is also used for gavage-based foie gras production that is more concerned with the animal's welfare (using rubber hoses rather than steel pipes for feeding). Others have expressed skepticism at these claims of humane treatment,[82] as earlier attempts to produce fattened livers without gavage have not produced satisfactory results.[83]
Most foie gras producers do not consider their methods cruel, insisting that it is a natural process exploiting the animals' natural features. Producers argue that wild ducks and geese naturally ingest large amounts of whole food and gain weight before migration. They claim that geese and ducks do not have a gag reflex in their throats the same way that humans do, and therefore do not appear to find force feeding uncomfortable. Michael Ginor, owner of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, author of "Foie Gras... A Passion," claims his birds come to him to be fed and says this is important because "a stressed or hurt bird won't eat and digest well or produce a foie gras."
In 2016, Hungary was producing 80% of the world's goose foie gras, however, production rates are likely to drop in 2017 due to outbreaks of bird flu.[60]
Chef Anthony Bourdain and chef/writer Michael Ruhlman have both supported foie gras production from humanely treated, properly raised ducks, and stated that the footage seen in the videos of critics is cruel but that no reputable chef would buy such product. However other celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, and Albert Roux are against the use of foie gras. Roux has argued that foie gras should come with a warning so that "people know what's being done to the animals." He states that "More humane methods should be used that allow the animal to gorge themselves naturally." Chicago chef Charlie Trotter maintained that the production of foie gras is "too cruel to be served." However, Trotter refused to be associated with animal rights groups stating "These people are idiots. Understand my position: I have nothing to do with a group like that. I think they're pathetic."
Traditionally, foie gras was produced from special breeds of geese. However, by 2004, geese accounted for less than 10% of the total global foie gras production[56] and by 2014 only 5% of total French production.[57] Goose breeds used in modern foie gras production are primarily the grey Landes goose (Anser anser)[57] and the Toulouse goose.[58][59]
In 2017, foie gras production was banned in Brussels - the capital of Belgium, which is one of the few remaining countries that produces foie gras.[114]