Chicago bans sale of foie gras

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Chicago might be the first U.S. city to ban foie gras, the enlarged, fatty livers of ducks and geese that many chefs consider to be a delicacy.

The Chicago City Council recently passed an ordinance to end the sale of foie gras in local restaurants. Foie gras results from force-feeding birds to create lipidosis, which makes their livers grow to several times the normal size.

Alderman Joseph A. Moore, 49th Ward, proposed the ban with support from animal welfare groups—including the Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance has responded by circulating a petition opposing the ordinance to send to Mayor Richard M. Daley.

The Chicago ban would prohibit local food-dispensing establishments from selling foie gras and provide for fines of at least $250 for each offense by a business.

California also is phasing out the production and sale of foie gras beginning July 1, 2012, with fines of up to $1,000 per violation per day.