Chef Christopher Gross Expects Another Foie Protest

There are quite a few restaurants serving foie gras in the Valley, but for some reason, Christopher's Restaurant and Crush Lounge have become a favorite target of protesters who consider the production of foie to be animal cruelty. Chef-owner Christopher Gross says he's had protesters show up at least six...

By Michele Laudig

April 19, 2010

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There are quite a few restaurants serving foie gras in the Valley, but for some reason, Christopher's Restaurant and Crush Lounge have become a favorite target of protesters who consider the production of foie to be animal cruelty.

Chef-owner Christopher Gross says he's had protesters show up at least six or seven times over the last several months, and that they're coming back this weekend.

Turns out, the protesters warn him in advance, in case he decides to take foie off the menu in the meantime. (Something I'm sure will not happen.) The protesters claim they've pressured other local restaurants to take foie gras off their menus, but word on the streets is that you can still order foie at some of these establishments . . . if you ask nicely.

Here's the letter that animal rights activist Dani Thumma sent to Gross regarding the upcoming demonstration:

Dear Christopher Gross,

I was hoping you would have made the compassionate decision to remove foie gras from Christopher's and Crush Lounge's menu. Le San Souci and Royal Palms Resort & Spa has eliminated foie gras from their menu, won't you follow their compassionate lead.

As you have no doubt heard before from compassionate dines who were horrified to see it on your menu, foie gras, which is actually fatty, diseased duck liver, is obtained in the cruelest way imaginable. Two to three times a day up to 4 pounds of corn mush is pumped into the birds' stomachs through long metal pipes that are shoved down their throats. This force-feeding process causes the birds' liver to become diseased and swell 10 times their normal size, often resulting in ruptured livers, throat damage, and esophageal trauma.

Foie gras production is almost universally recognized as the cruelest form of animal agriculture and, as such, has been banned in Denmark, Finland, German, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and the Czech Republic. California recently banned the sale and production of foie gras effective 2012. The Animal Protection and Rescue League investigated all of the foie gras farms in the United States and many in France finding the same cruelty on all farms.

So today I ask that you make the compassionate decision to stop serving foie gras at Christopher's and Crush Lounge because of the cruelty of force feeding. If you decide to keep foie gras on the menu, we will continue with the demonstration to educate your customers about the cruelty of foie gras on Saturday, April 24th

If you decide to remove foie gras from Christopher's and Crush Lounge before this Saturday, please let me know. I hope that you make the compassionate decision to do so.

Sincerely

Dani Thumma, Organizer
End Foie Gras in Arizona

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