New York City Bans Foie Gras – Should More Cities?

What’s the story?

• Foie gras sales will be banned in the city that never sleeps beginning in 2022, after the New York City Council passed legislation banning the sale of the French delicacy, which is made by force-feeding ducks.
• Violation of the bill is punishable by a $2,000 fine.
• This is not the first time foie gras - fattened duck or goose liver - has been a topic of debate: California banned it in 2012, only to have the law overturned in 2015. Then, in 2017, the ban was upheld by a circuit court judge—a ruling endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2019. The Chicago City Council passed a foie gras ban in 2006, only for it to be lifted two years later.

What are people saying?

Supporters

• Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, the bill’s primary sponsor, labeled foie gras a “force-fed product” and its method of production an “inhumane practice”

“As a lifelong advocate for animal rights, I am excited that the Council has voted to pass this historic legislation to ban the sale of these specific force-fed animal products,” Rivera said in a statement to CNN.

• “This is an historic day for animals at the New York City Council,” said Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “We want a big city that is judged of course, by how we treat our fellow people, but we also want to be judged by how we treat animals… We want to be at the forefront of protecting animals in New York City.”
• “As a chef, you desire to cook what the people want. But I also find it inhumane to force-feed an animal just to fufill that goal. All in all, I remain neutral on the subject,” Daniel Misiti, a Friars Club chef, said in a statement.

“The law is law, and I plan on abiding by it. In this case it’s quite easy.”

Critics

• “New York is the mecca of dining in the world. How is it possible that New York doesn’t have foie gras?” said Marco Moreira, executive chef and owner of Tocqueville, an acclaimed French restaurant near Union Square.

“What’s next? No more veal? No more mushrooms?”

• Sergio Saravia, a founder of La Belle, and head of the Catskill Foie Gras Collective, agreed.
• “California and New York were our biggest markets, so this is devastating,” said Saravia. “It’s going to make it difficult to stay afloat.”
• “I think a ban on foie gras is ridiculous,” said James Beard award-winner Ken Oringer, co-owner and chef at Manhattan’s Toro tapas restaurant. “Food choice is everything and the beauty of our country is that we can make the choice to eat what we want to eat.”
• Chef David Chang was a bit more blunt:

What do you think?

Do you support the sale of foie gras or do you think it’s inhumane? Why or why not? Contact your representatives, then share your opinions below.

—Veronica You

(Photo Credit: iStock / javarman3)