Federal parliament scraps foie gras from menu

Belgium’s federal parliament has removed foie gras from its restaurant menu at the request of Flemish nationalist party N-VA. Chamber secretary Yoleen Van Camp and fraction leader Hendrik Vuye introduced the proposal following the example of the Flemish parliament, which scrapped the controversial item from its menu several months ago.

The proposal was approved, despite protest from several members, including Denis Ducarme of the French-speaking reformist movement (MR), who even made a point of posing for a photo shoot while eating foie gras.

The decision to stop serving foie gras stems from the lobbying work of animal rights groups, which claim that the fattening of a goose or duck liver entails abuse of the animal by force-feeding.

Incidentally, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives recently decided to start offering a daily vegetarian alternative in its self-service restaurant.