"HudsonValley" news and stories

As Slashfood's Nicole Weston noted earlier in her summary of today's New York Times dining section, California's Sonoma Foie Gras has filed suit against Whole Foods.

The backstory? Last fall, Whole Foods -- clearly feeling the heat from animal rights activists -- issued an ultimatum to Sonoma Foie Gras' processor, Grimaud Farms. Whole Foods gave Grimaud Farms a choice: either stop processing and distributing for Sonoma Foie Gras or stop doing business with Whole Foods. Sonoma Foie Gras, in turn, has dropped a lawsuit on Whole Foods for "intentional interference with contract." 

The repercussions of this case, which comes to court on Friday, may be larger than any single court decision.

While animal rights activists -- who see foie gras as among the cruelest of foods -- have won a few victories (including a Chicago City Council vote last week to ban the sale of foie gras, which Slashfood's Nick Vangoni posted about last week), they may just have woken up a giant.

The Times reports that Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Sonoma Foie Gras, Rougie (Canada) and D'Artagnan have teamed up to form the North American Foie Gras Producers Association.  Their first act was to hire Ag Associates, a lobbying group.

Think foie gras is cruel? Wait 'til you see lobbyists in action.

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