What is the number one producer of foie gras in the world?
Foie gras
In 2016, it was reported that France produces an estimated 75% of the world's foie gras and southwestern France produces approximately 70% of that total. In 2016, it can retail for upwards of $65 a pound.
Foie gras controversy
The production of foie gras (the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened) involves the controversial force-feeding of birds with more food than they would eat in the wild, and more than they would voluntarily eat domestically. The feed, usually corn boiled with fat (to facilitate ingestion), deposits large amounts of fat in the liver, thereby producing the fatty consistency sought by some gastronomes.
California foie gras law
A farmer in Spain is producing a version of goose foie gras, which he says is made without force-feeding the geese.
Kronos Foods
Kronos Foods, Inc., is a Chicago-based company which is a foodservice manufacturer of Mediterranean food in the United States and the largest manufacturer of gyros in the world. Kronos Foods is known for being one of the first to produce, standardize, and market gyro cones (an argument exists as to who exactly was the first to "invent" the first manufactured gyro cone). They also produce marketing for gyro consumption.
With over 200 employees at its factory in Glendale Heights, Illinois, Kronos has expanded its product line from just gyro meats in the late 1970s to Greek yogurt, pita, hummus, spanakopita, baklava, and other Mediterranean foods.
Greencore
Greencore is the world’s largest maker of sandwiches - 350 million a year – with a 36% share of the UK market.
Foie gras
In late 2015, there were several outbreaks of the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu in France, which escalated during 2016. This led to Algeria, China, Egypt, Japan, Morocco, South Korea, Thailand and Tunisia banning French poultry exports, including foie gras, and France to initiate increased bio-security protocols which will cost an estimated 220 million euros. One of these measures was the halting of production in southwestern France from early April, 2016 for an anticipated period of three months to reduce the spread of the virus. Exports of foie gras from France are expected to decrease from 4,560 tonnes in 2015 to 3,160 tonnes in 2016.
First Growth
The Saint-Émilion Classification currently labels 15 wines as First Growths. These "Premiers Grands Crus Classés", subdivided into two further classes : "A" (2 wines) and "B" (13 wines). A further 64 wines are currently classified as "Grands Crus Classés".
Pomerol has refused to create any sort of classification scheme but it has produced red wines that are among the most expensive in the world, such as Petrus.
Animal Equality
After extensive investigations inside foie gras farms, India became the first country in the world to implement a nationwide ban on the importation of foie gras. This was a direct result of Animal Equality’s investigations.
Foie gras
Foie gras is a regarded as a gourmet luxury dish. In France, it is mainly consumed on special occasions, such as Christmas or New Year's Eve "réveillon" dinners, though the recent increased availability of foie gras has made it a less exceptional dish. In some areas of France "foie gras" is eaten year-round.
French fries
The town of Florenceville-Bristol, New Brunswick, headquarters of McCain Foods, calls itself "the French fry capital of the world" and also hosts a museum about potatoes called "Potato World". It is also one of the world's largest manufacturers of frozen French fries and other potato specialties.
Barilla Group
The group produces many kinds of pasta, and is the world's leading pasta maker with 40-45% of the Italian market and 25% of the US market. It produces pasta in over 120 shapes and sizes. Barilla brand pasta is sold in numerous restaurants worldwide, such as those belonging to the Pastamania chain. It is also the leading seller of bakery products in Italy. Through its acquisition of the Swedish company Wasa, it is the world's leading producer of flatbread (a Scandinavian staple), selling 60,000 tons annually. The company markets pasta in the U.S. as being Italian ("An Italian Favorite" marketing) in flavor, but most of the product in the United States is actually made in Iowa or New York and not Italy. The wheat used is mainly local.
Foie gras controversy
Most foie gras producers do not consider their methods cruel, insisting that it is a natural process exploiting the animals' natural features. Producers argue that wild ducks and geese naturally ingest large amounts of whole food and gain weight before migration. They claim that geese and ducks do not have a gag reflex in their throats the same way that humans do, and therefore do not appear to find force feeding uncomfortable. Michael Ginor, owner of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, author of "Foie Gras... A Passion," claims his birds come to him to be fed and says this is important because "a stressed or hurt bird won't eat and digest well or produce a foie gras."
Fortune cookie
There are approximately 3 billion fortune cookies made each year around the world, the vast majority of them used for consumption in the United States. The largest manufacturer of the cookies is Wonton Food Inc., headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. They make over 4.5 million fortune cookies per day. Another large manufacturer are Baily International in the Midwest and Peking Noodle in the Los Angeles area. There are other smaller, local manufacturers including Tsue Chong Co. in Seattle, Keefer Court Food in Minneapolis and Sunrise Fortune Cookie in Philadelphia. Many smaller companies will also sell custom fortunes.
Phillips Foods, Inc. and Seafood Restaurants
Phillips is a leading global manufacturer of crab meat, and employs over 2,000 people worldwide. The company's crab processing facilities are found in the United States and Southeast Asia. Ten plants are located worldwide. In 1990, Phillips opened crab processing facilities in Southeast Asia to ensure a year-round supply of swimming crab meat for their restaurants. Phillips Foods has global sales offices in Baltimore, MD and Bangkok, Thailand. While most of the seafood production goes to the United States, the company has a growing market in Asia, Europe, and Australia
Avril Group
Avril Group is the largest producer of table oils in France (Lesieur, Puget, Fruit d'Or, Soléou, Guénard), Morocco (Lesieur Cristal) and Romania (Bunica). By contributing to 1.2 million tons of oil in 2014, Avril participated in the daily supply of 75 million individuals. The group also manufactures oil and vegetable based sauces and condiments.
Alsace
Alsace is also well known for its foie gras made in the region since the 17th century. Additionally, Alsace is known for its fruit juices and mineral waters.
Groupe Limagrain
Limagrain is an international agricultural co-operative group, specialized in field seeds, vegetable seeds and cereal products. Founded and managed by French farmers, Limagrain is the 3rd largest seed company in the world through its holding Vilmorin & Cie, European leader for functional flours through Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients, 2nd largest French baker and 3rd largest French pastry maker through Jacquet-Brossard.
Foie gras
A number of countries and regions have laws against force-feeding or the sale or importation of foie gras, and even where it is legal some retailers have ceased to sell it.
Roger Moore
Moore was involved in the production of a video for PETA that protests against the production and wholesale of foie gras. Moore narrates the video. His assistance in this situation, and being a strong spokesman against foie gras, led to the department store Selfridges agreeing to remove foie gras from their shelves.
Buffalo Grill
Headquartered in Montrouge, France, it is the French's first-largest themed restaurant chain (as measured by sales and locations) with 360 locations in 4 countries (France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Spain), mainly located in France.
Buffalo Grill now serves about 31 million meals per year and has generated over €557 million of sales in 2017. .
Foie gras controversy
Animal rights and welfare activist groups such as the Humane Society of the United States and the Animal Legal Defense Fund contend that foie gras production methods, and force feeding in particular, consist of cruel and inhumane treatment of animals. Specific complaints include livers swollen to many times their normal size, impaired liver function, expansion of the abdomen making it difficult for birds to walk, death if the force feeding is continued, and scarring of the esophagus.
Fairview Wine and Cheese
Fairview is South Africa's leading producer of artisanal and speciality cheeses. In 2008, the Fairview goat herd is the largest commercial goat herd in Africa, numbering 750 does in the permanent milking herd. The milk from these goats, along with the milk from an exclusive single Jersey cow herd are brought to the Vineyard Cheesery daily. There are over twenty permanent lines in the Fairview cheese range, including blue mould, white mould and cream cheese products. These products are available at major retailers throughout South Africa.
Roquette Frères
Roquette is a French-based family owned company which produces more than 650 by-products from the starch extracted from corn, wheat, potatoes and peas. 
Founded and headquartered in Lestrem, France in 1933 by the brothers Dominique and Germain Roquette, Roquette has grown to become the leader in starch production in Europe and the number four ranked producer of starch worldwide. 
It is also the leader in the production of Polyols worldwide (substances derived from food compounds). Roquette employs more than 6,600 people globally and achieved a turnover of over 2,5 billion euros in 2011. 
At the beginning of the Great Depression in 1933 grain brokers Dominique and Germain Roquette along with the aid of ICAM engineer Adam Grunewald created a potato starch plant named Roquette in Lestrem. From this point on Roquette has grown to 30 establishments. Below is a list of the firm's major development stages since its beginning.
Foie gras controversy
The report of the European Union's Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare on Welfare Aspects of the Production of Foie Gras in Ducks and Geese, adopted on December 16, 1998, is an 89-page review of studies from several producing countries. It examines several indicators of animal welfare, including physiological indicators, liver pathology, and mortality rate. It strongly concludes that "force feeding, as currently practised, is detrimental to the welfare of the birds."
Sabaillan
The village is notable for the presence of several duck and geese farms specialising in the production of foie gras, one of the main products of the region.
Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods plc (ABF) is a British multinational food processing and retailing company whose headquarters are in London. Its ingredients division is the world's second-largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major producer of other ingredients including emulsifiers, enzymes and lactose. Its grocery division is a major manufacturer of both branded and private label grocery products and includes the brands Mazola, Ovaltine, Ryvita, Jordans and Twinings. Its retail division, Primark, has around 345 stores with over of selling space across Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the UK, and the United States.
Foie gras
Whole foie gras is readily available from gourmet retailers in Canada, the United States, Hungary, Argentina and regions with a sizeable market for the product. In US, raw foie gras is classified as Grade A, B or C. Grade A is typically the highest in fat and especially suited for low-temperature preparation, because the veins are relatively few and the resulting terrine will be more aesthetically appealing because it displays little blood. Grade B is accepted for higher temperature preparation, because the higher proportion of protein gives the liver more structure after being seared. Grade C livers are generally reserved for making sauces as well as other preparations where a higher proportion of blood-filled veins will not impair the appearance of the dish.
Ponta Grossa
Despite the minor highlight, agriculture adds 2200 establishments. The main crops are peanuts, rice, beans, cassava, maize and the largest cultivation of soybeans. Even though it plays a significant role in the state itself, it represents 3% of all value added and represents only 2.1% of its territorial extension. Ponta Grossa was considered the ""Capital Mundial da Soja"" (in English: "World Capital of the Soybean") between the decade of 1960 and 1970. Even being competitions of the Queen of the Soybean between 1971 and 1980 realized by the Sanbra. The idea was to represent the grain as economic potential and productivity. Before the fame Xuxa Meneghel was in Ponta Grossa and participated as a candidate of the Queen of Soy. In 2015 Vilson Hilgemberg along with his son Alisson Hilgemberg reached the mark of 142 sacks of soybeans per hectare proposed by a challenge of maximizing productivity. And being that year the largest producer of oleoginosa in Brazil. The average production is 40 to 60 bags. The Hilgemberg family said it intends to pass the world record of 179 bags per hectare. Soy is also represented by its derivatives as bran and oil, Pontagross products that are most exported abroad, reaching in 2018 to 3.14 billion, the main destination being China. The beneficiation is concentrated among 5 companies: Bunge, Cargill, Nidera, Louis Dreyfus and Cofco.
American Veterinary Medical Association
The AVMA has voted on several proposals to take a formal stand against the forced feeding of birds to make foie gras. Although foie gras has been banned in many countries in Europe, as well as in the U.S. state of California, because of an absence of science specifically addressing the welfare aspects of foie gras production, as well as conflicting opinions among its membership, the AVMA opted not to take a stand either for or against foie gras. The AVMA has published a welfare implications of foie gras production backgrounder.
Foie gras controversy
In 2004 and 2005, the American Veterinary Medical Association House of Delegates, the US accrediting body of veterinary medicine, was forwarded resolutions from its Animal Welfare Committee to oppose the production methods for foie gras. After hearing testimony from 13 delegates, the HOD declined to take a position and left a simple statement: "Limited peer-reviewed, scientific information is available dealing with the animal welfare concerns associated with foie gras production, but the observations and practical experience shared by HOD members indicate a minimum of adverse effects on the birds involved."
Economy of Portugal
Portugal is home to a number of notable leading companies with worldwide reputations, such as The Navigator Company, a major world player in the international paper market; Sonae Indústria, the largest producer of wood-based panels in the world; Amorim, the world leader in cork production; Conservas Ramirez, the oldest canned food producer; Cimpor, one of the world's 10th largest producers of cement; EDP Renováveis, the 3rd largest producer of wind energy in the world; Jerónimo Martins, consumer products manufacturer and retail market leader in Portugal, Poland and Colombia; TAP Air Portugal, highly regarded for its safety record, and one of the leading airlines linking Europe with Africa and Latin America (namely Brazil).
Eduardo Sousa
In 2013, Sousa teamed up with the Spaniard of French origin Diego Labourdette to distribute his naturally-obtained goose foie gras under the brand "Sousa & Labourdette".
Foie gras controversy
Mirepoix USA, a top provider of goose and duck foie gras, alleges that the animal rights activists attack is a form of prohibition against a cuisine item. Mirepoix claims that the use of the term "diseased" to refer to fatted liver is inaccurate and that geese and ducks naturally store dead fish in their esophagi for long periods. The ducks used in foie gras production, however, are a hybrid of Pekin (a type of Mallard) and Muscovy ducks, both of which are dabbling ducks and as such, subsist mainly on a diet of underwater vegetation, larvae, and various insects.
Mulard
Traditionally, foie gras was primarily produced with geese, but in the 1960s the majority of farmers began to use mulards. Geese are more expensive to maintain than ducks (they are larger and more aggressive), and the more temperamental muscovies did not accept the process of gavage (force feeding) as readily as Pekins, causing the quality of the foie gras to suffer. This problem was avoided by the introduction of mulards. These hybrids have also become extremely common in countries where foie gras is not produced.
Fonterra
Fonterra is New Zealand's largest producer of biofuel, processing a waste stream from casein manufacture into bio-ethanol. The company produces around 20 million litres of premium ethanol annually. 
Since 2004, Fonterra has produced ethanol from whey, a by-product of casein, in the Edgecumbe, Tirau and Reporoa plants. That year Fonterra's Edgecumbe plant showcased the power of its biogas, operating a 1.8 litre Hyundai vehicle on a petrol mixture containing 10 percent ethanol. In 2008, Fonterra began supplying Gull Petroleum with ethanol from its Edgecumbe plant.
Foie gras controversy
City of San Diego: On January 8, 2008, the San Diego City Council unanimously passed a resolution that "commends the Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL) for raising awareness of the cruel practice of force-feeding ducks and geese to produce foie gras, commends the many San Diego restaurants that have stopped selling foie gras before the California statewide ban goes into effect, and encourages San Diegans to avoid supporting this extreme form of animal cruelty." The resolution also cites an independent Zogby poll finding that 85% of San Diegans favor an immediate ban on foie gras.
Foie gras
Generally, French preparations of foie gras are made over low heat, as fat melts faster from the traditional goose foie gras than the duck foie gras produced in most other parts of the world. American and other New World preparations, typically employing duck foie gras, have more recipes and dish preparations for serving foie gras hot, rather than cool or cold.
Foie gras controversy
Since 1997, the number of European countries producing foie gras has halved. Only five countries still produce foie gras: Belgium, Romania, Spain, France and Hungary.
Foie gras
In 2017, foie gras production was banned in Brussels - the capital of Belgium, which is one of the few remaining countries that produces foie gras.
Foie gras controversy
Also pending is a 2006 lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States against the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, alleging that foie gras qualifies as an adulterated food that should not be sold.
Flor de Guía cheese
Flor de Guía cheese is a Spanish cheese () made on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It has Denomination of Origin protection. The cheese is classified as fatty or semi-fatty and made from the milk from Canarian sheep, with milk from Canarian cows and/or goats. The milk from the sheep must constitute at least 60% and cows’ milk content must never exceed 40%. Goat milk must never exceed 10% of the mixture. The cheese is presented in flat cylindrical cheeses which normally measure 4–8 cm (1.5-3 inches) high and 20-30 cm (8-12 inches) across and weighing between 2 and 5 kg (4.5-11 pounds). The cheese gets its name from an area in northern Gran Canaria called Santa María de Guia, where the cheese is made, and ‘flor’ from the fact that juice from the flowerheads of a species of cardoon and globe artichoke are used to curdle the milk.
Foie gras controversy
"Until new scientific evidence on alternative methods and their welfare aspects is available", the production of foie gras is prohibited by treaty except for "where it is current practice" among 35 countries bound by the Council of Europe's European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes.
Foie gras
Traditionally, foie gras was produced from special breeds of geese. However, by 2004, geese accounted for less than 10% of the total global foie gras production and by 2014 only 5% of total French production. Goose breeds used in modern foie gras production are primarily the grey Landes goose ("Anser anser") and the Toulouse goose.
Foie gras
After the fall of the Roman empire, goose liver temporarily vanished from European cuisine. Some claim that Gallic farmers preserved the foie gras tradition until the rest of Europe rediscovered it centuries later, but the medieval French peasant's food animals were mainly pig and sheep. Others claim that the tradition was preserved by the Jews, who learned the method of enlarging a goose's liver during the Roman colonisation of Judea or earlier from Egyptians. The Jews carried this culinary knowledge as they migrated farther north and west to Europe.
Common fig
In 2016, world production of raw figs was 1.05 million tonnes, led by Turkey, Egypt, and Algeria, as the three largest producers, collectively accounting for 58% of the world total.
Dan Barber
In 2008 his TED talk was on foie gras produced without force-feeding on a farm in Spain which he describes as a "Garden of Eden".
Caviar
China has emerged as the leading producer, accounting for 60% of the world production in caviar. The largest caviar company in the world is the Chinese brand Kaluga Queen, which cultivates sturgeon at Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang.
Niagara (grape)
Niagara grapes are a variety of the North American grape species "Vitis labrusca" (botanical family Vitaceae) and are used as table grapes and for wines, as well as jams and juice. Niagara is the leading green grape grown in the United States. A purple variety exists and is the main niagara cultivated in southern Brazil, principally in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where it is called "pink" niagara grapes (niágara rosada). The Niagara grape was created in Niagara County, New York, in 1868 when Claudius L. Hoag and Benjamin W. Clark cross-bred Concord grapes with white Cassady grapes. It was first sold commercially in 1882. Niagara grapes are considered to be poor shipping grapes, and so are usually only found near where they are grown. They are most commonly found in the United States in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Washington, and Ohio, and are also grown in Ontario in Canada, as well as in Brazil, and New Zealand. While only rarely available fresh outside these areas, Niagara grapes are well known to most American consumers as the source of most white grape juice.
Eucheuma
The major producers of "Eucheuma" include the Philippines (~92% total global production; 2005 statistics FAO) and China (~7% total global production), including Tanzania and Kiribati. This may be underrepresented as countries including Indonesia and Malaysia, which are also significant producers of these species, do not accurately report their output to the FAO. As "Eucheuma" is commercially important for economic growth, average annual production of total dried seaweeds, including other groups of sea plants, reached nearly 125,000 tonnes in the Philippines alone, by 2000-2004, with a value of approximately $US139 million.
Kings of Pastry
Kings of Pastry is a film by D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus that follows a group of world-class French pastry chefs as they compete for France's most prestigious craftsmen award: Meilleur Ouvrier de France, awarded by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The competition, which takes place in Lyon, France, features a diverse range of creative trade professions, from carpentry to jewelry design to pastry making. The honor of wearing the blue, white and red striped collar given to the winners is considered to be the ultimate recognition of excellence in the pastry field. The film focuses primarily on Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer, co-founder of Chicago’s French Pastry School, and one of the sixteen finalist chefs competing — the sixteen finalists were selected from eighty semi-finalists during the semi-final rounds that took place in the months prior to the final competition.
Foie gras
The polarising and controversial nature of foie gras production was identified in a paper that juxtaposed the views of "foie gras production as the apotheosis of murderous meat production, and those who consider it to be a co-production between humans and animals".
Compass Group
Compass Group Plc is a British multinational contract foodservice company headquartered in Chertsey, Surrey. It is the largest contract foodservice company in the world. Compass Group has operations in about 50 countries, employs over 550,000 people and serves around 5.5 billion meals a year. Compass Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It is also a Fortune Global 500 company.
Barry Callebaut
Barry Callebaut is among the world's largest cocoa producers and grinders, with an average annual production of 1.7 million tonnes of cocoa.
It was created in 1996 through the merging of the Belgian chocolate producer Callebaut and the French company Cacao Barry. It is currently based in Zürich, Switzerland, and operates in over 30 countries worldwide. It was created in its present form by Klaus Johann Jacobs.
D'Artagnan (food company)
D’Artagnan originally sold whole lobes of raw foie gras to the chefs of New York City. At the time the only foie gras available to restaurants was canned product imported from Europe. D’Artagnan’s product line quickly expanded to include game meats and heritage breed poultry, organic chicken, heritage turkey, grass-fed beef, humanely-raised veal and pork, pheasant, quail, squab and prepared products like pâté, dry-cured sausages, smoked duck breast and duck prosciutto. D’Artagnan was an early proponent of humanely raised, antibiotic and hormone-free organic meat. D’Artagnan sources from small farmers and creates cooperatives of farms where possible, to ensure that animals are raised in humane conditions. They procure meats from small family farms that are committed to humane, sustainable free-range, antibiotic and hormone free methods of animal husbandry. D’Artagnan contracts with 35 co-ops nationwide, representing about 1,500 farmers as of 2009. D’Artagnan’s line of products became more available to the consumer public when it began selling items to major grocery stores Balducci’s and the Food Emporium in 1996. "There is no reason you should be brutal to animals when you don't have to," Daguin was reported saying, "This is the first time ever I saw pigs being killed and not shrieking, because they didn't realize it."
Ferrero SpA
The Ferrero Group worldwide – now headed by CEO Giovanni Ferrero – includes 38 trading companies, 18 factories, approximately 40,000 employees and produces around 365,000 tonnes of Nutella each year. Ferrero International SA's headquarters is in Luxembourg. Ferrero SpA is a private company owned by the Ferrero family and has been described as "one of the world's most secretive firms". Reputation Institute's 2009 survey ranks Ferrero as the most reputable company in the world. The company's financial results for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2016 showed consolidated sales growth of 8.2% from the previous fiscal year.
Foie gras
In the United States, the largest producer is Hudson Valley Foie Gras, which uses approximately 350,000 ducks each year.
Foie gras
A pastry containing fatty goose liver and other ingredients is known as the "Strasburg pie" since Strasbourg was a major producer of foie gras. The pie is mentioned in William Makepeace Thackeray's novel "Vanity Fair" as being popular with the diplomatic corps.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Pig farming, which represents a significant part of the agri-food sector is distributed throughout the region (regional races: black ass Limousin, Gascon pork pie black Basque) and is guaranteed by the label "porc du Sud-Ouest ". The pigs in the region are used to produce many meat products, starting with the famous Bayonne ham. Many farms have also specialized in poultry production including yellow chicken Saint-Sever and poultry of Sèvres val (regional races Barbezieux, Limousin, Gascony, Landes and Marans) and fat waterfowl (mule ducks and geese), primarily designed for the production of foie gras and confit. Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the first European region in terms of foie gras (more than half the French production). The label "Canard à foie gras du Sud-Ouest" occupies a large part of the region.
Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork after JBS S.A. and annually exports the largest percentage of beef out of the United States. Together with its subsidiaries, it operates major food brands, including Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Sara Lee, Ball Park, Wright Brand, Aidells, and State Fair. Tyson Foods ranked No. 80 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
Foie gras
Some countries have produced foie gras only sporadically in the past. For example, in 1996, Turkey had a peak year of production with 20 tonnes of foie gras valued at US$39,000 being exported.
List of countries by grape production
This is a list of countries by grape production in 2016, based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database. The total world production for grapes in 2016 was 77,438,929 metric tonnes. China was the largest producer of grapes, accounting for 19.1% of global production. Italy came second at 10.6%, followed by the United States at 9.2%.
François Michelin
He increased the marketshare from the tenth top tire manufacturer in the world to number one. For example, from 1960 to 1979, he opened twenty-five new factories globally, even as far away as Vietnam. He hired Carlos Ghosn in 1978 to expand Michelin's marketshare in the United States. After he acquired Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. in 1990, Michelin dominated the US marketshare. While the buyout incurred debt for the company, Michelin stood firm in his decision to consolidate. By 1994, he was proved right, as the company was solvent again.
Cocoa production in Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) leads the world in production and export of the cocoa beans used in the manufacture of chocolate, , supplying 33% of cocoa produced in the world. West Africa collectively supplies two thirds of the world's cocoa crop, with Ivory Coast leading production at 1.8 million tonnes , and nearby Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Togo producing additional 1.55 million tonnes. Ivory Coast overtook Ghana as the world's leading producer of cocoa beans in 1978, and today is highly dependent on the crop, which accounts for 40% of national export income. The primary non-African competitor of Ivory Coast is Indonesia, which went from having almost nonexistent domestic cocoa industry in the 1970s to becoming one of the largest producers in the market by the early 2000s. According to the UN FAO, Indonesia overtook Ghana and became the second-largest producer worldwide in 2006. (World Cocoa Foundation provides significantly lower figures for Indonesia, but concurs that it is the largest producer of cocoa beans outside West Africa.) Large chocolate producers such as Cadbury, Hershey's, and Nestle buy Ivorian cocoa futures and options through Euronext whereby world prices are set.
Animal Protection and Rescue League
APRL's Stop Foie Gras campaign has released groundbreaking video footage of extreme cruelty from all three foie gras farms in the U.S. and several in France. APRL was instrumental in passing legislation in California and Chicago against this cruelty. See www.banfoiegras.org for more info on this campaign.
Foie gras controversy
In modern gavage-based foie gras production, force feeding takes place 12–18 days before slaughter.
Animal Equality
Following an Animal Equality investigation and campaign, supermarket chain COOP in Italy becomes the first market in Italy to ban the sale of foie gras.
Laura Chenel
Laura Chenel is a cheese maker who was America's first commercial producer of goat cheese, and helped to popularize goat cheese in America. In 1979, she began producing chèvre in the Bay Area town of Sebastopol, California, after a fact-finding trip to visit goat cheese producers in France. After several months of working to sell her product to local markets (with mixed success, due to American unfamiliarity with goat cheeses at the time), she received her first major opportunity when Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California placed a standing order for her cheese in 1980. Waters listed the cheese by name on her menu (as "Laura Chenel's Chèvre", in what may have been the first American instance of goat cheese salad), which provided Chenel with a great deal of publicity. Eventually, her operation would grow to sell over two million pounds of cheese per year. The company primarily manufactures fresh chèvre, although aged cheeses make up roughly 10% of its business. In 2006, Chenel sold the company to the Rians Group, a French corporation which has purchased multiple small farming operations, while retaining ownership of her herd of five hundred goats.
Foie gras controversy
In 2011, the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a legal petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), urging that foie gras bear a consumer warning label stating "NOTICE: Foie gras products are derived from diseased birds." ALDF argues that because the USDA is responsible for ensuring that poultry products are wholesome and for approving only products from healthy animals, stamping foie gras products with the USDA seal without disclosing that those products are derived from diseased birds misleads consumers, contravening the Poultry Products Inspection Act. Regularly eating foie gras can harm the health of predisposed people. Patients with Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes and other amyloid-related diseases should not eat it.
Foie gras controversy
In France, the fattening is achieved through gavage (force-feeding) corn, according to French law. French law states that "Foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France."
Foie gras controversy
Chef Anthony Bourdain and chef/writer Michael Ruhlman have both supported foie gras production from humanely treated, properly raised ducks, and stated that the footage seen in the videos of critics is cruel but that no reputable chef would buy such product. However other celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, and Albert Roux are against the use of foie gras. Roux has argued that foie gras should come with a warning so that "people know what's being done to the animals." He states that "More humane methods should be used that allow the animal to gorge themselves naturally." Chicago chef Charlie Trotter maintained that the production of foie gras is "too cruel to be served." However, Trotter refused to be associated with animal rights groups stating "These people are idiots. Understand my position: I have nothing to do with a group like that. I think they're pathetic."
Foie gras controversy
The force feeding of animals for non-medical purposes, essential to current foie gras production practices, is explicitly prohibited by specific laws in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, or following interpretation of general animal protection laws in Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. However, foie gras can still be imported into and purchased in these countries.
Most of these countries do not currently produce foie gras, nor have they in the past. Thus, these bans have stopped actual foie gras production in very few countries.
Foie gras controversy
In July 2014, India banned the import of foie gras making it the first and only country in the world to do so, causing dismay among some of the nation's chefs. The managing director of the Humane Society International of India said "This is a triumph for animal welfare in India as well as across the globe, and sets a precedent for other countries to follow".
Foie gras
Producers outside France do not always force-feed birds to produce fattened livers considered to be foie gras, instead allowing them to eat freely, termed "ad libitum". Interest in alternative production methods has grown recently due to ethical concerns in gavage-based foie gras production. Such livers are alternatively termed fatty goose liver, ethical foie gras, or humane foie gras. The British supermarket chain Waitrose also provides a version of ethical foie gras which it calls (and has been trademarked) "faux gras". This is not to be confused with the American product by the same name, produced by Regal Vegan, which has the U.S. trademark for "faux gras", and is actually a vegan, nut-based spread.
Foie gras
In April–May 2013, an investigator from Mercy for Animals recorded undercover video at Hudson Valley Foie Gras farm in New York state. The video showed workers forcefully pushing tubes down ducks' throats. One worker said of the force-feeding process: "Sometimes the duck doesn't get up and it dies. There have been times that 20 ducks were killed." Hudson Valley operations manager Marcus Henley replied that the farm's mortality statistics are not above average for the poultry industry. Because Hudson Valley provides foie gras to Amazon.com, Mercy for Animals began a campaign urging Amazon to stop selling foie gras, a move that has already been made by Costco, Safeway, and Target.
Cadbury
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company wholly owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars. Cadbury is internationally headquartered in Uxbridge, West London, and operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. It is known for its Dairy Milk chocolate, the Creme Egg and Roses selection box, and many other confectionery products. One of the best-known British brands, in 2013 "The Daily Telegraph" named Cadbury among Britain's most successful exports.
Foie gras
Fattened liver can be produced by alternative methods without gavage, and this is often referred to either as "fatty goose liver" or as foie gras (outside France), though it does not conform to the French legal definition. This method involves timing the slaughter to coincide with the winter migration, when livers are naturally fattened.
The winner of the Coup de Coeur award at the Salon International d'Alimentation, SIAL 2006, Patería de Sousa produces fattened livers without force-feeding. This has only recently been produced commercially, and is a very small fraction of the market.
Grasse
Grasse has had a prospering perfume industry since the end of the 18th century. Grasse is the centre of the French perfume industry and is known as the world's perfume capital ("la capitale mondiale des parfums"). Many "noses" (or, in French, "Les nez" (plural)/"Le nez" (singular)) are trained or have spent time in Grasse to distinguish over 2,000 kinds of scent. Grasse produces over two-thirds of France's natural aromas (for perfume and for food flavourings). This industry turns over more than 600 million euros a year. Grasse's particular microclimate encouraged the flower farming industry. It is warm and sufficiently inland to be sheltered from the sea air. There is an abundance of water, thanks to its situation in the hills and the 1860 construction of the Siagne canal for irrigation purposes. The town is above sea level and from the "Coast" (Côte d'Azur). Jasmine, a key ingredient of many perfumes, was brought to southern France by the Moors in the 16th century. Twenty-seven tonnes of jasmine are now harvested in Grasse annually. There are numerous old 'parfumeries' in Grasse, such as Galimard, Molinard and Fragonard, each with tours and a museum.
Foie gras
The ideology behind foie gras production is the ability that some waterfowl have to expand their esophagus and to gain weight, particularly in the liver, in preparation for migration. Unlike many birds, geese and ducks lack a crop. In the wild, esophageal dilation allows them to swallow large foodstuffs, such as a whole fish, for later digestion. Wild geese may consume 300 grams of protein and another 800 grams of grasses per day. Farmed geese allowed to graze on carrots adapt to eating 100 grams of protein, but may consume up to 2500 grams of the carrots per day. The increasing amount of feed given prior to force-feeding and during the force-feeding itself cause expansion of the lower part of the esophagus.
Fage
Fage International S.A. ( ) is an international dairy company founded in Athens, Greece and as of 2012 headquartered in Strassen, Luxembourg. It is one of the major dairy brands in Greece. It manufactures dairy products including milk, yogurt and ice cream. The word φάγε (pronounced "fa-yeh") is both the singular imperative verb meaning 'Eat!' and the initials Φ.Α.Γ.Ε./F.A.G.E. (Φιλίππου Αδελφοί Γαλακτοκομικές Επιχειρήσεις/"Filippou Adelphoi Galaktokomikes Epicheiriseis" or "Filippou Bros. Dairy Co.").
Florenceville-Bristol
Bristol is the home of Carleton North High School as well as Bristol Elementary School.
Florenceville-Bristol is home to the corporate headquarters for McCain Foods, the largest producer of French fries in the world. McCain also operates the Florenceville Airport, with a single paved runway located amid agricultural fields on the west side of the river.
Groupe Doux
Doux Group, founded in 1955 and headquartered in Châteaulin, Finistère (France), is a French food processing company in the industrial poultry production business, exporting poultry-based processed products. In 2014, it was ranked as the largest producer of poultry in Europe, and the third largest in the world. The group is led by Arnaud Marion, who has been the CEO of Doux since late 2012.
Ebro Foods
Ebro Foods, S.A. (; ), formerly Ebro Puleva, is the leading company in the Spanish food processing sector. Ebro Foods is the world's largest traders/miller of rice and the second biggest producer of pasta (its Panzani brand is a market leader in France). The company's head office is in Madrid.
Foie gras controversy
PETA wants this practice, which they say is cruel, stopped. Various American celebrities have lent their voices to this public campaign. Most recently in April 2009 PETA released a letter written by television and stage actor Bea Arthur to TV chef Curtis Stone deploring the practice of foie gras.
Legal aspects of ritual slaughter
In June 2017, MP Matthias Aebischer (Social Democratic Party) proposed a bill to ban the import of meat from animals that have undergone ritual slaughter. The bill also included a ban on foie gras, which is controversial because it is produced by forcefeeding geese which is widely considered cruel, despite being popular amongst especially French-speaking Swiss.
Foie gras controversy
The controversy over foie gras has been the subject of several lawsuits. The 1985 case Lovenheim v. Iroquois Brands was a shareholder suit regarding ethical concerns about a company selling foie gras.
Foie gras controversy
Dr. Ward Stone, wildlife pathologist with the NYSDEC and Adjunct Professor at SUNY has on several occasions conducted post-mortems on ducks that died from force feeding, including from the same farm a few months after Mr. Downes' visit. In September 2005, he writes: "the short tortured lives of ducks raised for foie gras is well outside the norm of farm practice. Having seen the pathology that occurs from foie gras production, I strongly recommend that this practice be outlawed."
Foie gras controversy
Late in 2003, the French group Stopgavage ("Citizens' Initiative for the banning of force-feeding") published the Proclamation for the Abolition of Force Feeding, which asks justices to find foie gras production practices a violation of existing animal welfare laws. For this manifesto Stopgavage claims the support of over eighty French animal rights and welfare associations, over a hundred such associations from 25 other countries, and over 20 thousand individual signatories.
Egyptian cuisine
Foie gras, a well-known delicacy, is still enjoyed today by Egyptians. Its flavor is described as rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike that of an ordinary duck or goose liver. Foie gras is sold whole, or is prepared into mousse, parfait, or pâté, and may also be served as an accompaniment to another food item, such as steak. The technique involves gavage, cramming food into the throat of domesticated ducks and geese, and dates as far back as 2500 BC, when the ancient Egyptians began keeping birds for food.
Table grape
Chile, Peru, the United States, China, Turkey, Spain, South Africa and Australia are all major producers and exporters of table grapes. World table grape production in 2016 is estimated by the USDA to be in the region of 21.0 million metric tons per annum, China alone accounting for an estimated 9.7 million metric tons of this global total. Chile remains the world's single largest table grape exporter, exporting over 800,000 metric tons to mainly North American and European markets. China, by way of contrast, exports only 247,000 metric tons per annum mainly to South East Asian markets; a small percentage of overall production.
Foie gras controversy
In 2014 Compassion in World Farming partners with other organizations such as the German "Albert-Schweitzer Foundation" and the French organization "L214" to pressure the EU Commission and EU Agriculture Council to take action against the production of foie gras.
Foie gras controversy
In January 2009, The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureau recommended that New Jersey-based foie gras producer D'Artagnan cease advertising claims that their product is made from "enlarged" rather than "diseased" livers, and that the animals were "hand-raised with tender care". D'Artagnan voluntarily modified their advertising to remove the claims which the agency said had not been "adequately substantiated."
Foie gras controversy
A number of retailers have ceased the sale of foie gras produce following campaigns and protests over production methods. These include Amazon.co.uk, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Lidl, House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols.
ContiGroup Companies
Headquartered in Hong Kong, ContiAsia has been operating in China for almost three decades. ContiAsia operates more than thirty companies that are classified into one of its four business units: Conti Chia Tai International, ContiFeed Group, Great Wall Northeast Asia Corp, and Meat Merchandising.Formed in 1988, Premium Standard Farms, Inc (PSF) was founded with the aim of creating a standardized method for which to produce premium pork. To accomplish this goal, the company decided to pursue full vertical integration – the first in the United States to do so. In 1998, ContiGroup Companies, Inc (formerly known as Continental Grain Company) acquired a majority interest in PSF. Today, Premium Standard Farms is the second largest pork producer and the sixth largest processor in the United States with operations in Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas. The company sells fresh and frozen pork products to domestic retailers, further processors, foodservice providers and export customers from more than 20 countries.
List of wine-producing regions
With the import of Western wine-making technologies, especially French technology, production of wines similar to modern French wine has begun in many parts of China with the direction of experienced French wine-makers; China is now the sixth largest producer of wine in the world. The following regions produce significant quality of wine:Indonesia has been producing wine for over 18 years, with North Bali's vineyards producing three main grape varieties: the Belgia, the Alphonse Lavallee and the Probolinggo Biru. The main producer, Hatten Wines, has revolutionized the world of winemaking, with eight wines produced from these three varieties.
Foie gras
Fully cooked preparations are generally sold in either glass containers or metal cans for long-term preservation. Whole, fresh foie gras is usually unavailable in France outside the Christmas period, except in some producers' markets in the producing regions. Frozen whole foie gras sometimes is sold in French supermarkets.
Foie gras controversy
In 2001, the Director of the New York State Government Affairs & Public Policy Dept. for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is one of America's leading environmental activist groups, wrote a letter to then NYS Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer, asking that the state's foie gras producers be prosecuted for violating animal cruelty statutes.
Biofuel
There are international organizations such as IEA Bioenergy, established in 1978 by the OECD International Energy Agency (IEA), with the aim of improving cooperation and information exchange between countries that have national programs in bioenergy research, development and deployment. The UN International Biofuels Forum is formed by Brazil, China, India, Pakistan, South Africa, the United States and the European Commission. The world leaders in biofuel development and use are Brazil, the United States, France, Sweden and Germany. Russia also has 22% of world's forest, and is a big biomass (solid biofuels) supplier. In 2010, Russian pulp and paper maker, Vyborgskaya Cellulose, said they would be producing pellets that can be used in heat and electricity generation from its plant in Vyborg by the end of the year. The plant will eventually produce about 900,000 tons of pellets per year, making it the largest in the world once operational.
Foie gras
In November 2013, the "Daily Mirror" published a report based on the video they obtained depicting cruelty towards ducks in a farm owned by French firm Ernest Soulard, which is a supplier to celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's restaurants. The restaurant chain suspended purchasing from the supplier following the exposé.
Peter J. Taggares
Taggares quit school after the third grade. In 1956, he established a small farm near Othello, Washington. From that beginning he built an agricultural empire in the Pacific Northwest second only to that of JR Simplot. At his death his holdings, estimated to be worth half a billion dollars, included the largest irrigated farm in Oregon and one of the world's largest vineyards. Chef Reddy Corp., which he founded in 1964, became one of the nation's largest producers of French fries.
Foie gras
Foie gras (, ; ) is considered a luxury food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been especially fattened. By French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by force-feeding corn with a feeding tube, a process also known as gavage. In Spain and other countries, it is occasionally produced using natural feeding. Ducks are force-fed twice a day for 12.5 days and geese three times a day for around 17 days. Ducks are typically slaughtered at 100 days and geese at 112 days.
World Food Championships (TV series)
World Food Championships is a television series produced by A&E Television Networks and airing on the Fyi network. The show features competitors at the annual World Food Championships in Las Vegas where top chefs and home cooks compete for a top prize of $300,000.Competitors compete in regional qualifiers around the world before the best of the best head to Las Vegas. Chefs create a signature burger in the first round. In round two they must create a patty melt with an original twist. In the third round the top 10 contestants compete using a secret ingredient.