The legal battle in NYC over foie gras pitted animal rights advocates against the foie gras industry in New York.
The NYS Appellate Division on March 12 unanimously upheld the city’s ban on the sale of the product in restaurants. The ruling confirms Local Law 202, formerly Intro. 1378, which the NYC Council passed in 2019.
The law is set to fine businesses up to $2,000 per violation for selling the controversial product within city limits. The legal challenge to the ban pitted animal rights advocates against advocates for the foie gras industry, which activists report kills approximately 300,000 ducks each year. Agriculture representatives sought to block the regulation in court.The campaign to enact the ban was led in part by advocacy groups, including Voters for Animal Rights , who sought to restrict the sale of the products derived from specific production methods they deem cruel.describes on its website. “A mixture of maize and pure fat is administered through this pipe, intended to cause rapid weight gain and the abnormal growth of the liver.”“A good quality foie gras will always come from the liver of a duck or goose that has been raised in the open air, fed on locally grown cereals, deveined with precision, then seasoned with few good quality spices and cooked to perfection,” the sales site describes.“The ban has been on the books, but what happened was that the agriculture commissioner for the state of New York ordered the city not to enforce it by invoking a very broad, never-before-argued application of the state agriculture markets law,” explained Bryan Pease, an attorney for the animal advocacy coalition.“It’s ridiculous when you actually analyze what the commissioner thought he could do here,” Pease said. “In this case, the agriculture commissioner just rewrote the law, and the judge went along with it.”VFAR reps highlighted the outcome of Thursday’s decision as a significant achievement driven by grassroots efforts and volunteer organizing. “Voters For Animal Rights is overjoyed with this historic victory for animals and grateful that New York City’s right to govern itself remains intact,”Allie Taylor, president of VFAR, said. “Today’s ruling not only upholds the city’s ability to make decisions in the best interest of its residents, human and nonhuman alike, but also shows the power of citizens coming together for justice and compassion.” amNewYork contacted the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, as well as restaurant and hospitality groups in NYC, for their comments on the band and is awaiting responses. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals , another member of the coalition to outlaw the liver-based food, applauded the ruling. “New York City was right to keep the diseased livers of abused birds off the menu, and PETA is cheering the news that the city may finally enforce this ban, helping to spare countless ducks and geese the agony of being force-fed through tubes rammed down their throats,” Tracy Reiman, president of the organization, said.” Former NYC Council Member Carlina Rivera supported the foie gras ban while in office. She called the process of producing foie gras inhumane in a 2019 “This is one of the most violent practices and it’s done for a purely luxury product,” she said in the article. Meanwhile, retailers that have reportedly refuse to sell the item include Costco, Sam’s Club, Target and Whole Foods. “This is a momentous step forward in creating a kinder, more humane world, and it proves that meaningful change is possible when people refuse to accept cruelty as the status quo,” Taylor of VFAR said.Barbara Russo-Lennon is the transit reporter at amNewYork. She covers news about NYC’s public transportation system, roads, waterways and other topics related to transit in the Big Apple.Mamdani set to announce new Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ AffairsSt. John’s Bryce Hopkins gets last laugh, sends Providence home in Big East quartersOh, nuts! State police searching for thieves who stole 60K pounds of walnuts from Bronx trailerscrew steals more than $56,000 in luxury activewear from Manhattan, Brooklyn shops near L train, cops say
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