Chicago has banned the sale of foie gras, starting in June. This won't surprise anyone who's followed the issue. Once Californa legislators passed a ban on production and sale in 2004 (effective 2012), other cities and states followed suit.
Long-time readers know that my "The Dilemma of Foie Gras" article left me with an ambivalent stance about force-fed geese and ducks. A stance I share with every other writer who's looked at the subject objectively. It is not as horrendous as it sounds (force-feed the bird until the liver is 10-12 times its normal size). But it's not as innocent as producers and gourmands suggest.
Still, I disagree with an outright ban.
Angry eGulleteers claim that this bill is hypocritical because restaurants can still serve factory-farmed chickens, cows, and pigs. I tend to have little sympathy for the "focus on those issues instead of foie gras" argument. There's always a larger battle (human rights! keeping the hungry fed! providing good education! world peace!) and who can blame an activist for picking a small battle that s/he can win? Animal rights groups do run campaigns against factory farms but the press refuses to cover them and foie gras is no more or less ethical just because some other form of livestock leads a more miserable life.
