Foie Gras Freedom…for Now
30 Nov 2006, Posted by food inI find it fascinating that people would be “appalled” by my comments on foie gras fascism in my latest Food Philosophy podcast, but not even slightly appalled by the animal rights activists who rocks through restaurant windows and threaten chefs with further violence.
Thankfully the NYC foie gras ban has been sidelined for now, but I’ve no doubt it will resurface soon enough. We are trying to get Mr. Gerson to join us for a Culinary Roundtable discussion, but as of yet he has declined. Shocker.
From yesterday’s NY Sun:
Council Member Puts Foie Gras Ban Aside For Now
On the verge of introducing legislation tomorrow that would ban foie gras from city restaurants and food markets, a city council member decided to pull in the reins and investigate the matter further. “I’m generally sympathetic to humane issues,” the city council member who was proposing the ban, Alan Gerson, said, “but there are a lot of people on both sides of the issue.” Mr. Gerson said that a phone call he received from a constituent aided in his decision not to introduce the legislation. The proposal for the ban was submitted to Mr. Gerson by the League of Humane Voters of New York City. The Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit on November 15 in Albany to ban the production of foie gras on the grounds that the process, where ducks are force fed so that their livers expand, results in diseased animals that are a health hazard.