citizenarcane / CC

Someone needs to cut Boston's bookworms a break. First, one of the ducklings from the Make Way for Ducklings tribute statue in Boston's Public Garden was stolen. Then, the city announced budget cuts that will result in layoffs for 26 library employees.

Since lots of Boston's book lovers must be duck lovers too, we just might have the solution to save the city's Mallard brood and the librarians' jobs. We are offering to pay the Boston Parks & Recreation Department to erect a permanent sign behind the Make Way for Ducklings tribute statue that reads, "Say 'No' to Foie Gras!"

No one who's read Make Way for Ducklings would support the sale of foie gras, especially once they learn that Mrs. Mallard's close relatives are force-fed by having pipes shoved down their throats until their livers become painfully engorged and their internal organs sometimes rupture. The ducks and geese used for foie gras shiver with fear and pain between feedings and become so ill that they stop preening and have difficulty walking. That several restaurants in Boston still sell this ugly, cruel "delicacy" means that some people apparently didn't read the book—or are just "ducking" the issue. That sign would be a hard-to-miss reminder of how Mrs. Mallard and her brood shouldn't suffer for someone's gluttonous, fatty meal.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

This one’s for our campaign to encourage Chicago to maintain its ban on foie gras. With a different slogan, it could probably also be pressed into service as a reminder to tip your waiters. Either way, I’m a big fan of it. It features the wonderful Brooke Johnson, and a plea to Chicago’s alderman to put a stop to the hideous practice of force-feeding ducks and geese so that rich people can pretend there’s something civilized about chewing on their livers. Check it out:

USAToday/Creative Commons

This little saga started three or four months ago when First Daughter Jenna Bush was allegedly spotted chowing down on foie gras in a DC restaurant, and PETA President Ingrid Newkirk wrote her a very nice letter asking her to please not do that in future. Well, a couple of weeks ago, Texas Monthly asked her about the foie gras fiasco, and she denied that it had ever happened. In fact, she said, the only meat she ever eats is fish.

Which, as you might imagine, was all the invitation we needed to pen her another little missive, this time to congratulate her on her (mostly) compassionate diet and to suggest that if she can just bring herself to leave the sea life off her plate, we’d be glad to nominate her for next year’s World’s Sexiest Vegetarian contest (which, incidentally, her cousin Lauren won in 2003). So there you go — with her family’s noted abilities at getting people to vote for them, she’s all but guaranteed the coveted Sexy Veg title in ’08. If she can just swear off the sushi.

You can read Ingrid’s letter to Jenna here.

*Via Washington Whispers.

Oh, and in completely (like, completely) unrelated news, there was a cat vitamin recall this week. If you feed your cats vitamins, you should check this link to see if it affects you.

Rochester/Creative Commons

Phat (adj.)
1. Cool.
2. Pretty Hot and Tempting.
Yo, Jack, that 1996 Toyota Corolla of yours is a pretty phat ride!

Fatty (adj.)
1. Consisting of, containing, or resembling fat: fatty tissue.
2. Pathology. Characterized by overproduction or excessive accumulation of fat.
Are you really going to eat that fatty, diseased liver, you sick freak?

Alright, now that we’ve got the definitions out of the way, here’s the big news: Phat Farm clothing and Def Jam records founder Russell Simmons just approached the Chicago City Council on PETA’s behalf to urge them to oppose efforts (funded by what may well be the sickest, most unethical industry on the planet) to repeal the city’s ban on fatty duck liver, or foie gras. Here’s what Russell had to say to the Council:

“Cruelty is wrong, regardless of whether the victim is a child, a dog, or a bird. Let's come together to oppose all cruelty and injustice. I am asking that you support keeping this compassionate law in place—a law that Chicago can be truly proud of."

You can check out Russell’s letter below, and for a little taste of what goes on in the foie gras industry that’s currently pressuring Chicago to repeal its ban, check out this story about 15,000 ducks who burned to death this week at a Hudson Valley Foie Gras factory farm. When asked for comment, Hudson Valley owner Izzy Yanay expressed his deep regret about how much money this is going to cost him. Anyone else feel like these people should be out of business ASAP?

Thanks, Russell, for everything that you do.

The Canadian group Global Action Network, in collaboration with Farm Sanctuary, just released an undercover investigation of Canada’s largest foie gras farm, Elevages Perigord. It contains some of the most horrible cruelty I have ever witnessed, and it is almost impossible to get through it without ruining your day. Which is why it should be mandatory viewing for anyone who’s ignorant enough to eat this stuff. There’s some more information on foie gras and the steps PETA is taking to get it banned here.

If you want to see firsthand what happens on foie gras farms—or if you’re a foie gras lover who urgently needs some education about the horrors that you’re supporting—I’ve posted the video below.

It’s no secret that first daughter Jenna Bush is a bit of a wild child and as you know, we here at PETA can get as wild as anyone. But when the Bush twin switched from MGD and bong hits to foie gras, Ingrid Newkirk pulled out her pen and let Dubya’s rebellious daughter know what’s up.

You can read Ingrid’s letter here.

PoliticalHumor/Creative Commons

Solar Navigator/Creative Commons

Since proclaiming Roger Moore the best 007 ever last week, I’ve heard from people on all sides of the debate, and though some of you make some decent arguments for Sean Connery and Timothy Dalton (admittedly, License to Kill and The Living Daylights are pure genius—definitely two of the best Bond flicks ever) I’m sticking to my guns on this one. I’m even more a fan of Sir Roger after hearing from friends at PETA Europe that he is all over the UK media for pushing Parliament to ban foie gras.

Klast/Creative Commons

Here’s a quote from the ITN story, “I wholeheartedly support this (Peta's) campaign, and with your help I believe that we will soon see an end to this brutal and inherently cruel 'delicacy'.” You can check out the full story here.

Mmmm hmmm, now who is your favorite 007? If your answer isn’t Roger Moore, check out this exposé he narrated for us and see if you change your mind . . .

Giant Eagle, which has more than 200 grocery stores in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio, has just announced that it will no longer sell foie gras! The company's decision was prompted by nearly 250,000 e-mails and countless phone calls from customers and members of the public who expressed their concern that the store was selling a product which is made by force-feeding ducks and geese until their livers swell up, and which has been banned in the city of Chicago and the state of California—not to mention the fact that it is illegal in numerous progressive countries—because of the cruelty involved. In an e-mail to PETA just a few moments ago, a Giant Eagle representative confirmed that “Giant Eagle Market District stores have stopped the sale of foie gras.”

A huge thank you is due to everyone who took the time to contact Giant Eagle about this issue and bring about this massive victory for ducks and geese. Now that more and more major grocery chains like Giant Eagle and Whole Foods are taking a stand against the cruelty of foie gras, and given that the pope himself has spoken out against it, it won't be long before foie gras is nothing more than a nasty little piece of history. Don't hesitate to make anyone you know who still eats the stuff aware of that fact.