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

[blueheron]

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

Sure, those geese won't suffer, but what about all the other animals who are going to get killed for their liver so that other forms of pate can be made? The campaign doesn't address demand for pate, it simply shifts the demand to a different product.

Welfarism doesn't work, and it has never worked, or we would be in a much better place after the past 200 years or so of animal welfare advocacy.

You are right in the fact that the general population is far, far away from being ready to abolish the use of animals, but think of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on campaigns like this, which target producers and suppliers, instead attempting to educate and raise awareness about the injustice of exploitation, regardless of treatment. If you can eliminate demand, then the producers will follow.

Stores will continue to stock pate in various forms, along with meat, eggs, dairy, etc so long as people are asking them to. My bet is that the foie gras was not one of their best sellers, and someone figured out that eliminating it would save money in the long run. You can believe that it was not done out of some altruistic desire to help save the geese.

[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.)