California wine caught in foie gras row FRANCE

The Pan Seared Sonoma Foie Gras with Brussels Sprouts, Brioche and Golden Raisin Sauce dish prepared at Cafe Majestic in San Francisco in March. The Pan Seared Sonoma Foie Gras with Brussels Sprouts, Brioche and Golden Raisin Sauce dish prepared at Cafe Majestic in San Francisco in March. Photo: John Lee Photo: John Lee Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close California wine caught in foie gras row 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

Foes of California's ban on foie gras have a new ally abroad: a politician in southern France who is urging a boycott of California wines in response.

The state ban on the sale and production of the French-born delicacy, a fatty goose or duck liver made by force-feeding the animals, took effect July 1. Most restaurants in the state have removed the item from their menus, though some have refused.

The move has outraged Philippe Martin, president of the general council in the Gers region, near the Pyrenees mountains.

"I call on all the restaurants in France that sell Californian wine to stop doing so in a show of solidarity for our foie gras makers and, more broadly, for all food makers," said Martin.

The Gers, in the heart of Gascony, is an agricultural area known for goose foie gras. France produces more than 16,000 tons of foie gras annually, or two-thirds of the product sold globally. The French consume 75 percent of the world production.

"This won't have severe impact on the Gers region trade balance, let alone the French trade, or the California trade balance," Martin acknowledged, "but we had to send a strong signal because we think this is an unfair measure."

California produced 90 percent of the $1.4 billion in U.S. wine exports in 2011, according to the Wine Institute in San Francisco. Little is exported to France, said Terry Hall, a spokesman for Napa Valley Vintners of St. Helena, which represents 430 wineries.

"There's not going to be a lot of California wine to boycott," Hall said. "France is a major producer. They're not keen on a lot of imports, especially from California."

He added: "Why would you take it out on the wine industry, especially when Americans are an incredible supporter of the French wine market?"

This is not the first time that politics has intruded on culinary relations between the two nations. In 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives responded to France's opposition to the invasion of Iraq by renaming the French fries served in its cafeteria "Freedom Fries."

In California, the foie gras ban is pitting chefs against animal-rights activists. Restaurateurs say no one should dictate what people may eat, while the activists say force-feeding the animals through a tube in their esophagus is cruel.