Swiss Lawmakers Tackle Foie Gras Appetite After Activist Push

(Bloomberg) — Swiss lawmakers want to reduce foie gras imports and keep the option of prohibiting them on the table if tougher labeling rules don’t curb demand for the controversial delicacy within five years.

Parliament’s Upper House on Monday supported a plan for giving the product a grace period after animal rights activists collected more than 100,000 signatures for an immediate import ban. Instead, authorities should monitor if new animal cruelty labels on products will drive consumers away, lawmakers said. The bill calls on the government to impose further restrictions — like outlawing imports — if that’s not the case.

The Lower House proposed the compromise in March. Campaigners can still force a plebiscite if they think the approach is too soft.

Traditionally, foie gras is made by force-feeding ducks or geese through a tube to make their livers fatty. The animals can also be tricked into fattening themselves up voluntarily, but they still need to be obese for their livers to make the rich and greasy paste.

Producing the controversial food has been banned in Switzerland for more than 40 years because of the cruelty involved.

Meanwhile, efforts to get the Swiss to like a vegan substitute of the luxury product look to have failed. Nestle’s “voie gras” — a soy-based foie gras alternative — was sold for two seasons before disappearing from shelves.

–With assistance from Fabienne Kinzelmann.

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