Prince Charles Bans Foie Gras
The Daily Mail just reported that Prince Charles has banned foie gras from royal menus and “instructed chefs at all of his royal residences to stop serving the dish.” The announcement came after an activist in Bristol wrote to the prince about the cruelty involved in producing the stuff when she noticed that it was being sold in the royally appointed shop House of Cheese. Here’s how Prince Charles’ Deputy Master of the Household (i.e., the guy who writes back to you when you send a letter to the Royal Palace) responded:
“The Prince of Wales has asked me to write and thank you for your letter about animal welfare issues surrounding the production of foie gras and your experience in Tetbury. I just wanted to reassure you that The Prince of Wales has a policy that his chefs should not buy foie gras. His Royal Highness was not aware that the House of Cheese sells foie gras and this will be addressed when their warrant is reviewed.”
That’s about as big a boost to Britain’s growing movement to permanently ban the sale of foie gras as you could hope for: If the few remaining establishments that are still selling the stuff won’t take it from outraged consumers, they might want to think twice about ignoring a frickin’ royal mandate. PETA’s president sent a letter to the Prince today, thanking him for taking this compassionate stand, and we’re hoping that this positive example from overseas will influence cities like Chicago to stand by their decisions to ban this cruel delicacy forever. Thank you, Prince Charles.