24/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - France rules out going to WTO over Californian ban on foie gras. Paris prefers to conduct “a battle of political, economic and cultural conviction” rather than lodge a complaint with the WTO over a law in the State of California (United States) banning foie gras, the French Delegate Minister for Agri-food Guillaume Garot said on 23 July. “Lodging a complaint with the WTO would not be the right thing to do. We might lose and have to face retaliatory measures”, Garot is quoted by AFP as telling foie gras producers in the Gers region. 90% of global foie gras production and consumption is French, a statistic that makes clear that the Californian ban might harm the industry, Garot said, highlighting, however, this “warning sign” of the power of the “extremely powerful” anti foie gras and anti meat lobbies in the United States and the Anglo-Saxon world, which are campaigning against the forced feeding of geese and ducks on the grounds of animal welfare. (EH/transl.rt)