Foie gras set to be banned in New York City

Restaurants and shops selling delicacy face $1,000 fine and a year in prison

The controversial French delicacy foie gras is set to be banned in New York City despite the objections of leading chefs.

A bill outlawing the sale of fattened duck and goose livers at restaurants or shops was passed 42-6 by council members and awaits approval by mayor Bill de Blasio.

Anyone breaching the prohibition – due to start in 2022 – could be punished with up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The production of foie gras, which involves force-feeding birds with corn through a tube stuck down their throats, has been labelled “cruel” by animal welfare groups such as Peta.

Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, who first proposed the bill in February, said the ban was “common sense”.

“It is not part of the diet of everyday New Yorkers,” she added. “Less than one per cent of all New York City restaurants serve it. This is truly a luxury item.”

However chefs in the city, which has about 1,000 restaurants offering foie gras, reacted with dismay.

The ban was described as “ridiculous” by Ken Oringer, co-owner at the Toro tapas restaurant, whose menu includes foie gras katsu sandwiches.

“This is idiocracy,” tweeted chef David Chang from the Momofuku global restaurant chain. He added: “Stupid short sighted and a misunderstanding of the situation.”

Producers of foie gras will also be affected. Marcus Henley, the manager of the Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a 200-acre farm in the Catskill Mountains, said he intended to file a lawsuit challenging the ban.

“We will not let this restriction on New Yorkers’ freedom of choice go unchallenged in the courts,” Mr Henley said.

Previous attempts to ban the delicacy in the US have been strongly opposed by farmers, who claim the birds are treated humanely.

Foie gras was banned in Chicago in 2006 but the city ordinance was repealed two years later.

California’s ban on the delicacy since 2012 was challenged in federal court but the US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal brought by farmers and chefs earlier this year.

Additional reporting by Associated Press