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The UK government is reportedly inviting chefs to help innovate vegan foie gras recipes ahead of a potential ban.
The news was revealed by The Guardian, who says the government is in talks with chefs to discuss making alternatives out of nuts and mushrooms.
Advisors are inviting chefs from high-end restaurants to create “faux gras.” It comes after MPs were called to embrace a ban on foie gras imports earlier this year.
Now, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) is consulting on a ban on sales and imports.
Vegan foie gras
“Sources said the government hoped to show that a gap in the market left by a restriction on the trade of the controversial product could be filled by high-end chefs who are willing to produce alternatives,” the outlet reports.
Despite it being made illegal over two decades ago, hundreds of tonnes of the controversial product are imported into the country every year.
Commonly produced in France, it involves the force-feeding of ducks to enlarge their livers.
Amid the current ban, Defra states that the government is “considering further steps it can take in retaliation to foie gras.”
In an email to chefs who serve vegan alternatives in their restaurants, The Guardian reports that the government pressed for a virtual meeting to discuss “ethical” alternatives to foie gras.
