Washington (United States) (AFP) – The production and sale of foie gras is set to become illegal in Washington after voters in the US capital overwhelmingly backed a measure banning the controversial gourmet food item. The ban, however, could face possible delays or be overturned, with media reports saying foie gras producers and restaurants are likely to challenge it in court.
Initiative 86, as the referendum is known, won 73 percent of the vote on Tuesday, according to provisional results. It bars the force-feeding of birds to enlarge their livers as well as the sale of any product resulting from the practice. Activists say that the production of foie gras is torturous to ducks and geese. Washington currently has no farms or facilities producing the classic French delicacy, but restaurants that serve it could face fines of $1,000 to $5,000 as well as a suspension of their operating license.
Celebrity chef Jose Andres, who owns several restaurants in the capital, was among several high-profile critics of the effort. “So we are banning all meats?” Andres said in October. “Let’s concentrate on things that matter… cars with children are being shot by ICE, immigrants working in farms and restaurants being deported, many with green cards and even citizens… so many other issues!”
Distribution of foie gras has already been banned statewide in California and in the US cities of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Portland, Oregon. A 2019 attempt by New York City to ban foie gras has yet to take effect because of protracted legal battles. New York state is home to the two main foie gras producers in the United States.
“Should governments have the power to say what we’re allowed to eat? That’s really the question here,” Jordan Grinor, director of Hudson Valley Farms, told AFP in September.
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