PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Nine On Nine Pulls Foie Gras Off Menu
by Voices for Animals of Western PA Sunday, Mar. 11, 2007 at 8:27 PM
voicesforanimals@gmail.com 1-877-321-4VFA P.O. Box 7181, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Second Victory for Voices for Animals in Less than 2 Weeks

Pittsburgh, PA – Hot on the heels of the Giant Eagle victory, the downtown Cultural District restaurant Nine on Nine has informed Voices for Animals of Western Pennsylvania (VFA) that they have pulled foie gras from their menu and will no longer sell it. Nine on Nine’s decision came after Voices for Animals contacted the restaurant and sent them investigative footage of foie gras farms and information regarding it’s production, requesting that they remove the delicacy from their menu.

Nine on Nine’s decision marks the second win for Voices for Animals’s Foie Gras Free-Pittsburgh campaign in less than two weeks time. On Friday, February 23rd, Giant Eagle decided to stop selling foie gras in its Market District stores in Shadyside and Bethel Park, as well as agree not to sell it in any of its 230 stores, ending Voices for Animals’s 4-month long campaign against the grocery chain in success.

Foie gras, or “fatty liver”, is made from the grossly enlarged liver of ducks and geese. It is produced by shoving long metal pipes down the throats of ducks and geese and force feeding them 1/3 of their body weight in food each day, until their liver is enlarged up to ten times its normal size, causing a painful disease known as hepatic lipidosis. The force feeding process wreaks havoc on the birds’ bodies, and many are unable to walk or stand up properly. The birds are also denied water to swim in, something that is necessary for water birds to remain healthy.

In addition to Giant Eagle and Nine on Nine, nearly a dozen other establishments in Pittsburgh have removed foie gras from their menus after being contacted by Voices for Animals of Western Pennsylvania. Internationally, dozens of countries have banned foie gras production due to its inherent cruelty, including Poland, the U.K., Switzerland, and Israel. Most recently, the state of California and the city of Chicago have passed legislation to ban the sale and production of foie gras.

Jon Farinelli, a Campaign Coordinator of Voices for Animals of Western Pennsylvania, stated, “Ducks and geese on foie gras farms suffer horribly for the sake of a frivolous appetizer. We are very glad Nine on Nine has made the compassionate decision to no longer financially support the deplorable cruelty of the foie gras industry.”

www.vfa-online.org