Has his ascension from the Prince of Wales to King Charles changed the U.K.’s new monarch? When it comes to his policy on foie gras, it’s only gotten bigger.
As Prince of Wales, Charles banned chefs at his residences from serving foie gras in 2008, according to the Telegraph. (Buckingham Palace apparently followed suit, but not until three years later.) Now, as Food & Wine reports, PETA says they received confirmation from the new King that he plans to extend this policy to all of the King’s new royal residences as well.
The animal activist group even says they sent “a hamper of decadent faux gras made by renowned vegan chef Alexis Gauthier” as a thank you. “PETA encourages everyone to follow the king’s lead and leave foie gras off the menu this Christmas and beyond,” Elisa Allen, PETA’s vice president of programs in the U.K., added.
The confirmation reportedly came from Tony Johnstone-Burt, master of the King’s household, who said the ban was in place at all royal residences including Balmoral, Sandringham, Windsor Castle, Hillsborough Castle, and Buckingham Palace. “There are no plans for this policy to change,” the letter was quoted as saying.
Currently, the production of foie gras is banned in the U.K.; however, foie gras produced elsewhere is still legal to be served. PETA has been pushing to get the import and sale of foie gras banned within the country, too, calling the current policy a “contradiction.”
This isn’t the only area where the new monarch has been leading the way for change in the food world. King Charles also has a history of supporting sustainable farming. And earlier this year, he spoke about his advocacy for organic farming and concerns over antibiotic use. “One of the reasons I went organic 40 years ago was because I felt there was an overuse of antibiotics,” he said in September according to The Guardian. “And I felt that if you overdo it, you end up with resistance. Anyway, that’s happened. I was told I was a complete idiot for even suggesting going organic.”
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