Selfridges stops selling foie gras

[helen4morrissey]

Here's some good news. Following Roger Moore's campaign with Peta, Selfridges has stopped selling foie gras! I don't often agree with Peta's tactics, but this is a great result!

More here in English and here in French

Comments

[kirbyish]

No clue what Selfridges is, but who cares? A victory is a victory. :D

[helen4morrissey]

Ah sorry! It's a big Harrods-style department store in the UK.

[blueheron]

I am not convinced that it is a victory. The issue seemed to be all about "suffering" and not about use or exploitation.

People are just going to buy other types of liver pate instead of foie gras, like they do here (where it is possible to buy foie gras still, but it is too expensive for every day consumption).

Maybe I am just cynical, but the problem isn't with the producers, the problem is with the people who create the demand in the first place.

[helen4morrissey]

Yeah, you're right. It is a *small* victory, but every little helps.

[blueheron]

Is it a victory though, if all it succeeds in doing is to transfer the exploitation to another group of animals and confuse people about the issues?

I don't need to tell you how many people think that I am vegan because I don't like animals to suffer, and are shocked by the fact that I don't think that even "humane" exploitation is OK -- because the issue isn't suffering. A slave with a comfy bed and a TV is still a slave, and it is still wrong.

Banning foie gras isn't saying "we won't tolerate animal exploitation" it is saying "it is OK to exploit animals so long as they are treated well".

[megamuphen]

I think that getting to a place where the general public is against the exploitation of animals AT ALL is sooooooo far off that it is really unfair for us to expect animals that we could improve the conditions for suffer in the meantime.

[blueheron]

Except that this type of action isn't doing anything to eliminate suffering

[amethystrse]

Wow. You're really against small victories aren't you? I'm sorry but this is a good thing. Treat it as one. You can't expect everything to change at once. But every little bit helps.

I don't think it will ever get to the point where every animal is safe from exploitation and being eaten and treated badly. It's just not going to happen. More and more people are becoming aware but there are so many more who remain ignorant and will continue to do so because they WANT to be ignorant.

Don't get mad because one small success doesn't save every animal. The fact that they're all not saved and millions of people aren't made aware that they're doing something wrong doesn't make this any less of a success.

Just my opinion.

[blueheron]

It isn't a success if you say "Don't kill geese, kill ducks". A grocery store that stops selling foie gras isn't saving animals, they are simply shifting the consumption of animals to other species. That isn't a victory for any animal except the geese.

This isn't just conjecture either. Foie gras is alive and well in my province, and there are a few grocery stores who have refused to carry it. They still do a crazy amount of sales in other types of pate, and people who want foie gras just go to the specialty stores. Now that it has become more rare, it is also popping up on more and more restaurants, because it is a sign of "class".

I am not angry, not in the least, but single issue campaigns that don't work to educate the public on ethical veganism do not actually benefit animals when you take a wide look at it.

Have a read of Gary Francione's "Great Victory of New Welfarism" for a more detailed example of what I am talking about.

[blueheron]

If you are curious to pursue it further, have a listen to Professor Francione's interview on the foie gras ban in California [mp3] (transcript here [pdf] if you would rather read it.)

[helen4morrissey]

I get where you're coming from. I wouldn't generally describe myself as a welfarist, but I do think that foie gras is kind of in a league of its own when it comes to cruelty. I think it's important to draw people's attention to just how very barbaric it is: even people who have no problem with killing and eating animals.

I have an example: a former colleague of mine used to happily eat anything at all. I explained to her about foie gras. She stopped eating it. Then, over the course of a year, she became completely vegetarian: the foie gras issue had opened her eyes to how cruel man can be towards animals, and made her question the other food she was eating. I'm still prepared to call that a small victory, even though she isn't vegan (yet!).