NYC joins California in banning sale of foie gras
NEW YORK » The New York City Council overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday that will ban the sale of foie gras in the city, one of the country’s largest markets, beginning in 2022.
New York City will join California in prohibiting the sale of foie gras, the fattened liver of a duck or goose, over animal cruelty concerns.
“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.
Most foie gras is produced through a process known as gavage; ducks are force-fed a fatty cornbased mixture that engorges their livers. The process requires tubes to be inserted into a duck’s throat for a 20-day feeding regimen, swelling the liver to up to 10 times its normal size. The procedure can leave ducks too big to walk or even breathe before they are slaughtered, animal activists say.
Carlina Rivera, a Manhattan councilwoman who sponsored the foie gras legislation, said her bill “tackles the most inhumane process” in the commercial food industry. “This is one of the most violent practices and it’s done for a purely luxury product,” she said.
Foie gras farmers say that the forced feedings are not cruel, and that the claims of torture are exaggerated. They say there is a bias against foie gras because it is a luxury product.
The bill bars the sale of foie gras produced by “force-feeding birds,” with each violation punishable by a $2,000 fine. But not all foie gras comes from ducks or geese that have been force-fed, and determining whether foie gras was illegally produced may present an enforcement challenge.