Mayoral Hopeful Takes Aim at Foie Gras

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The New York Sun

The fight over foie gras is coming to City Hall, with a City Council member who is running for mayor, Tony Avella, set to urge his colleagues to support a proposed ban on the force-feeding of ducks and geese.

Mr. Avella, who also has introduced a bill to ban horse-drawn carriages in the city, said he thinks it is inhumane to force-feed birds to fatten their livers for foie gras.

Tomorrow Mr. Avella is scheduled to introduce a council resolution in support of a state bill proposed by Senator Frank Padavan that would ban the force-feeding of birds by hand or machine to enlarge their livers.

“If they can produce foie gras by feeding the animals in a normal process, well, that’s up to them,” Mr. Avella, who represents parts of Queens, said. The resolution will not call for a ban on the sale of foie gras.

Michael Ginor, the president of a producer of foie gras, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, said he encourages people to “visit the farms, read the studies, and learn that there is nothing harmful, painful, or inhumane about the production of foie gras.”

He said he is hopeful that Mr. Avella’s effort won’t go any further, but said he had not heard about the resolution and therefore couldn’t comment on the specifics.

Foie gras was banned in Chicago for about two years, but the law was repealed by the City Council last month after restaurateurs banded together in protest.


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