Restaurants in New York City will be banned from selling or serving foie gras as of 2022 under a bill passed yesterday by the City Council.
The measure technically prohibits the sale of “force-fed products” by any establishment within the city. It specifies that foie gras would per se be regarded as a force-fed product.
The fine-dining staple is already banned in California, and animal rights groups are pushing bans elsewhere in the United States. More than a dozen other nations have already outlawed the delicacy, which is essentially the livers of geese that have been force-fed.
“We are thrilled that the stain of foie gras has been removed from NYC and hope that many other cities will follow in its footsteps to end blatant animal abuse in the food industry,” said Marilyn Kroplick, president of animal welfare group In Defense of Animals, in a statement.
The bill is still subject to approval or veto by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is widely expected to sign the measure into law.
The ban will take effect three years after enactment. Violators will be subject to fines yet to be determined.
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