An American medical doctor and author has petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture, asking the agency to lift a decades-old rule banning the use of lungs in food. The petition, filed this month by Jonathan Reisman, argues the ban is unscientific.
“When I read the federal code and details of the lung law I quickly realized that the law made no medical or scientific sense and was not contributing to public health in any way,” Reisman told me this week by email. If successful, his petition would lift a decades-old ban on the sale in this country of authentic haggis, a tasty, traditional Scottish dish typically containing sheep’s lungs, heart, liver, and stomach, along with oatmeal, onion, suet, and spices.
Reisman, author of The Unseen Body: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Hidden Wonders of Human Anatomy, filed the timely petition this month, just in time for this week’s annual haggis-filled birthday celebration for Scotland’s beloved national poet Robert Burns, born on January 25, 1759.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member