Restaurant Faces Lawsuit After Calling Fois Gras Humane

The Animal Protection and Rescue League has filed a class action lawsuit against a Southern California eatery in order to dispute the restaurant’s claims that its foie gras is ethically produced. Last week, Hot’s Kitchen in Hermosa Beach, CA sent out a press release announcing its partnership with the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards, which will receive a $1 donation for every “humanely farmed” foie-gras burger sold at the restaurant. Foie gras, French for “fatty liver,” is produced by force-feeding ducks or geese until their livers become massively enlarged—a process APRL argues is inherently cruel. “By claiming the foie gras they sell is ‘humane’ as a publicity stunt, these defendants are deliberately misleading consumers into purchasing a cruel product,” says attorney Bryan Pease, APRL’s co-founder.