Foie gras ban overturned in New York State. Here’s why that’s bad for birds
Five years after a bill banning the sale and serving of foie gras in New York City was signed into law, the legislation has been overturned.
Credit: Animal Equality
The New York State Supreme Court has overturned New York City's 2019 ban on the sale of foie gras, claiming that it violated state agricultural laws.
Foie gras has repeatedly come under fire for its cruel production methods, in which geese and ducks are force-fed - often through tubes inserted in their throats - until their livers become unnaturally engorged.
New York City passed a law in 2019 banning the sale of foie gras in the city’s stores and restaurants - an estimated 1,000 establishments were serving the controversial product at the time. The ban was set to go into effect in 2022, but La Belle Farms and Hudson Valley Foie Gras, two foie gras farms based in Sullivan County, New York, sued to challenge the decision.
The New York Supreme Court at that time issued an injunction against enforcing the ban, and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets claimed the ban was “unreasonably restrictive” and in violation of state agricultural law. In early 2023, New York City filed a lawsuit against the state to finally implement the law.
This latest ruling, which allows restaurants throughout N.Y.C. to continue serving the delicacy, is a setback for animal activists who have long fought against the foie gras industry due to the suffering inflicted on the birds.
Credit: Animal Equality
Why Are Activists Fighting to Ban Foie Gras?
On the farms, geese and ducks have long metal tubes pushed down their throats to pump their stomachs full of high-calorie food daily for months. This process can cause injuries to their beaks and throats, psychological distress, and multiple organ failures before they are eventually slaughtered. The intention is to cause the birds to develop a debilitating health condition called hepatic steatosis, or fatty liver disease.
There are currently three duck farms producing foie gras operating in the US, with La Belle Farms being one of them. The company produces more than 182,000 ducks per year for foie gras and duck meat products.
On Hudson Valley Foie Gras farm in New York, another of the companies embroiled in the battle to overturn the foie gras ban, around 15,000 ducks die every year before they can be slaughtered.
Undercover investigations into Hudson Valley by People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA) found that a single worker was expected to force-feed 500 birds three times each day, resulting in rough treatment.
Many ducks also died from ruptured organs due to overfeeding, with the company awarding bonuses to workers who killed fewer than 50 birds each month. One worker reported to an investigator that he could feel tumor-like lumps in some ducks' throats, caused by force-feeding. In one particularly severe case, a duck had a maggot-infested neck wound so bad that water spilled out when he drank.
Credit: Animal Equality
Multiple other countries, including Australia, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and Turkey have placed restrictions on foie gras, citing animal cruelty concerns. California is currently the only US state with a foie gras ban in place, although residents can still order foie gras from out of state. Chicago banned the sale of foie gras in 2006, but the measure was overturned two years later.
Species Unite is calling for a nationwide ban on foie gras in the US, arguing that it directly violates the USDA’s Poultry Products Inspection Act, which requires that “diseased poultry carcasses and parts be condemned.”
“Independent lab testing has proven that foie gras comes from birds who suffer severe hepatic lipidosis,” said Santina Polky, Species Unite’s Director of Campaigns and Development. “This fatty liver disease means that all the birds who are used for foie gras are diseased and therefore their meat is considered unfit for human consumption and should be condemned based on US laws.
“The tragic miscarriage of justice that has recently seen New York City's ban on foie gras overturned is a grim reminder that we must demand change on the federal level to ensure the greatest possible protections for animals,” she added.
Join Species Unite and more than 5,000 others calling for a ban on foie gras in the United States by signing this petition.
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