The French startup wants to produce laboratory-grown foie gras

The French startup Gourmey received $ 10 million (€ 8.41 million) from European and US investors this month to hone its recipe for laboratory foie gras. The popular delicacy of the French frie gras, the liver of fed geese and ducks, has always been a thorn in the side of animal welfare. But it seems that operens are having better times and the French will not lose their delicacy. The solution is foie gras grown in the laboratory from duck cells. Gourmey came up with this offer at a time when the "methods" used to make this delicacy are causing growing concern in the world. In California, for example, the sale of foie gras has been banned for years, and New York plans to ban it from next year. Britain has again banned the production of foie gras and is also considering a ban on its sale. However, CIFOG, which brings together companies in the French "foie gras industry", does not like Gourmea's plans and claims that he will not have the right to label his products under this name. "The foie gras label is strictly controlled by precise regulations, both at French and European level," the association said, adding that it was an "authorized" name intended exclusively for products from fed ducks or geese. Fat-grown foie gras livers are obtained by forcibly feeding poultry a hose stuck to the throat, a method criticized by its opponents as unnecessarily cruel and stressful. Last month, European Parliament legislators proposed banning forced feeding of ducks or geese. Startup Gourmey, based in a university research laboratory, has spent the last two years developing its process for artificial liver production. The company claims that its product will be able to appeal to both chefs and gourmets. Thanks to the funds raised, Gourmey plans to move to 1,000 square meters in central Paris to prove to investors the viability of mass production. But CIFOG is convinced that the vast majority of French people do not want to consume artificial products, synthetic chemicals from laboratory manipulations in laboratories, including foie gras.