The Wall Street Journal reports that the New York City Council has overwhelmingly passed new legislation banning the sale of foie gras on the grounds that its production is unacceptably cruel to animals. The ban will be phased in over the next three years.
Here's how the Journal frames the argument:
"Foie gras, a mainstay at many upscale eateries, is fattened duck or goose liver that is produced by force-feeding the birds to expand their livers several times the normal size before slaughter.
"Animal activists call the process inhumane. Duck farmers, many of whom are in and around the Hudson Valley, say the birds are treated well and live freely, unlike other poultry sold in supermarkets and shops … The Catskill Foie Gras Collective, comprising the three main producers of foie gras to New York restaurants and retail shops, said the ban restricts dining choices and will eliminate more than 400 jobs and cut millions in revenue. The group said it would challenge the ban in court."
Here's how the Journal frames the argument:
"Foie gras, a mainstay at many upscale eateries, is fattened duck or goose liver that is produced by force-feeding the birds to expand their livers several times the normal size before slaughter.
"Animal activists call the process inhumane. Duck farmers, many of whom are in and around the Hudson Valley, say the birds are treated well and live freely, unlike other poultry sold in supermarkets and shops … The Catskill Foie Gras Collective, comprising the three main producers of foie gras to New York restaurants and retail shops, said the ban restricts dining choices and will eliminate more than 400 jobs and cut millions in revenue. The group said it would challenge the ban in court."
- KC's View:
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I know this sort of identifies me as a gastronomic heathen, but they lose me at "liver."
And maybe I'm soft-hearted, but the whole idea behind foie gras sort of bothers me. Though I recognize that all animal-based foods are produced by feeding and then killing said animals, and so it all is a matter of where you draw the line.
By the way … will Daffy and Donald be showing up during the suit to testify in favor of the ban? Just curious.
