Police Called to Restaurant Over Illegal Foie Gras Dishes After PETA Tip-Off

The Morris Must Face Consequences if It Flouts State Ban on Cruelly Produced Food

For Immediate Release:
December 31, 2020

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

Following a tip-off from PETA that The Morris was offering foie gras dishes on its special New Year’s Eve menu, law-enforcement officials confirmed that they will investigate and, if warranted, issue citations against the restaurant for violating California’s foie gras ban.

“It’s against the law to sell the diseased livers of force-fed birds in California, so PETA is eager to see The Morris held accountable if it proceeds with illegally profiting from the suffering and exploitation of gentle birds,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—notes that during foie gras production, several pounds of fat and grain are pumped into birds’ stomachs every day through tubes shoved down their throats, causing their livers to swell to up to 10 times their normal size. In some cases, birds’ organs even rupture. Investigations into farms in the U.S. and Europe have revealed sick, dying, and dead animals—some with holes in their necks from injuries sustained during force-feeding.

More than a dozen countries—including Australia, Germany, and the U.K.—prohibit foie gras production. Companies around the world—including Whole Foods Market and Sam’s Club—refuse to sell it, and top chefs, such as Wolfgang Puck and the late Charlie Trotter, have refused to serve it.

PETA opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. The group’s letter to San Francisco Police Department Capt. Gaetano Caltagirone is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.