Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Will NYC Finally Ban Foie Gras This Year?
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 29, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Shutterstock
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 29, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Earlier this year, we reported that the city council was considering a bill banning the sale of foie gras in NYC on the grounds that it's cruel to physically pump fowl full of feed before leading them to slaughter. The NY Times reported today that the bill, which has been in committee for months, will likely come up for a vote in the fall, with more than half of the Council already signed on as co-sponsors. After a similar initiative failed in 2008, the time seems ripe for this one to pass. But will it actually happen?
In case you're not familiar and/or have yet to try it yourself, foie gras is a fancy liver paste that comes either from a duck or a goose; it literally means “fatty liver” in French. It's a delicacy that is served in nearly 1,000 restaurants across the city (according to the Times), most of whom rely on several duck farms in the Hudson Valley, which are among the only U.S. producers, to produce it.
Critics have a serious problem with the methods by which the local farms make it though: they typically shove tubes down animals' throats to engorge their organs with flavor, a production process known as gavage. As PETA wrote, "The force-feeding causes the birds’ livers to swell to up to 10 times their normal size. Many birds have difficulty standing because their engorged livers distend their abdomens, and they may tear out their own feathers and attack each other out of stress."
You can see a video of the disturbing practice below.
Animal-rights activists and the legislation’s sponsor, Lower Manhattan council member Carlina Rivera, say that the practice is inhumane. Rivera's bill would make selling foie gras a misdemeanor crime, imposing fines up to $1,000, and even a year of jail time, on violators. There is precedent for such legislation, as similar bans have happened in California and, briefly, Chicago. Christine Kim, the animal-welfare liaison to Mayor Bill de Blasio, said during testimony earlier this year that the mayor’s office supports the intent of the bill.
"Don't tell me you're a fan of the Central Park Mandarin duck but you think foie gras is OK," council member Justin Brannan told the Post earlier this year. "Force-feeding a bird for the sole purpose of making it sick to create some bizarre delicacy is gruesome and inhumane. This may have been acceptable in 2500 BC but I think we know better now."
But there remains some opposition to the bill. Advocates point to foie gras' long culinary history (humans have engaged in gavage since the ancient Egyptians), and some veterinarians argue the animals are “physiologically normal” despite being force-fed. Some of the products in the city come from ducks in Spain that naturally gorge themselves, which is hard to distinguish from the locally-sourced kind. The two major foie gras producers upstate, Hudson Valley and La Belle Farm, employ over 400 people, some of whom defended the practice during a recent hearing. There's also the city's poor history of following through on animal-related legislation.
And then there are the people who think this is just political correctness run amok. Per the Times:
But foie gras advocates say claims of torture are exaggerated and politically motivated. Foie gras, as a luxury item, is an easy target, compared with animals raised industrially for wide consumption. “If you try to get people to give up their cheap chicken, you would have a problem, because it would affect their budgets,” said Mark Caro, who wrote “The Foie Gras Wars,” an exploration of the controversy. “It’s enjoyed by foodies and gourmets: people most of this country resents,” he continued. “There’s a definite anti-snob thing going on.”
Dr. Holly Cheever, a veterinarian who is vice president of the New York State Humane Association, told the Times that the manner in which the animals are prepared in New York leaves them in a terrible state before being slaughtered—unable to walk or breathe at times, and in liver failure. "If we are going to consume another sentient being, we should make sure the production method is painless," Dr. Cheever said. "This is the cruelest form of food production."
Tagged
foie gras ban
ducks
geese
foie gras
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .