Beginning in 2022, NYC will have a law (1378 A) in place that will ban restaurants, retail food establishments or food service establishment from selling, storing, maintaining, or offering to sell force-fed products or food containing a force-fed product.
Intro 1378A was passed by the New York City Council among a package of animal welfare bills on October 30th, 2019. The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that any item with a label or listed on the menu as “foie gras” is the product of force-feeding.
Fines of $500- $2000 will be charged to those who violate the ban.
Foie gras is French for fatty liver. Ducks and sometimes geese have their livers enlarged by shoving a pipe down the throats of the birds, a very cruel act, and force-feeding them extra corn. The dish is considered a delicacy around the world. Foie gras began in Egypt when the realization of force-feeding created a fatty liver, a food they very much enjoyed.
There are three manufacturers of foie gras in the United States- Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the largest maker of it, located in Ferndale, NY, La Belle Farms, also located in Ferndale, NY and Au Bon Canard in Minnesota.
Hudson Valley claims they take care proper care of the birds are humane in accordance with the laws of New York. They plan to get this ban overturned.
Over 1,000 restaurants serve foie gras in NYC. And some aren’t happy about the ban.
“New York is the mecca of dining in the world. How is it possible that New York doesn’t have foie gras?” Marco Moreira, the executive chef and owner of the French restaurant Tocqueville in Manhattan, told The New York Times. “What’s next? No more veal? No more mushrooms?”
“We will suffer,” he added.
Are you kidding me? What about the cruel practice of shoving pipes down ducks’ throats and causing them to suffer??
Moreira continues, “It’s like taking letters from the alphabet. They will take something out of our kitchen vocabulary that’s integral to the restaurant.”
New York city is the latest U.S. city to ban this delicacy dish. California banned foie gras in 2004 and went into effect in 2012 and remains intact. Chicago also banned the practice in 2006 but it was reversed two years later. Former Chicago Richard Daley called the ban “the silliest ordinance ever.” He said Chicago was the “laughingstock of the nation.”
Who’s laughing now?
Australia, Isreal Argentina, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, most of the Austrian provinces, andthe Czech Republic have banned foie gras. India has banned the importation of foie gras. It can’t be sold anywhere in the country.
Foie gras is cruel to the birds. Try being force-fed with a pipe shoved down your throat. I don’t think you’d disagree! Why should animals have to suffer in such a brutal way just so you can fill your stomach? There are other foods to eat instead of foie gras.
A definite win for animals but we have to wait to see if Hudson Valley is successful in their attempt to overturn it. They will have the backing of the restaurants and patrons. Hopefully, the ban will remain.
Tina Evangelista-Eppenstein is a television talk show host, speaker, writer, and an unabashed animal advocate. Her love for animals and quest for the hard truth is what drives her passion for all things animals. She hosts the television show, “A Close Up Look at Animal Welfare Issues.” She adores her tripawd, Brody, who was a formerly abused pup who lost his leg because of cruelty inflicted upon him. If you’d like Tina to talk to your group or have a story, please email her at tevangelistaepp@yahoo.com. Like https:www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookatAnimalWelfareIssues and be sure to check out AnimalWelfareIssues.com.
I’m glad they finally banned it. Foie gras is a specialty dish but it comes at a very high cost to the ducks. Force-fed good as a pipe is shoved down their throats is cruel. I’m surprised that New York chef’s don’t understand the cruelty involved and will fight this.
New York is full of liberals who most often are for anything like this. They should be happy that the world’s city that never sleeps is one of the first to recognize this.
Bunch of hypocrites. Still thrilled for the ban!
“We will suffer,” he added.
Are you kidding me? You’ve got to be crazy for insinuating that.
To the ban: yep, yep!
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I can’t eat meat so another victory. I can’t eat meat because of the unimaginable suffering animals endure before and during being killed. Even if animals are here for us to eat, it doesn’t give us the right to be cruel to them. They feel pain. They scream out in pain. I can’t ever imagine having a job killing animals.
I can relate to what you’re saying. We’re never going to stop people from eating meat. I personally don’t. I wish more people could understand and/or see what the animals endure prior to killing them. It’s horrendous.
Thx.
Keep on writing, great job!