PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — City councilors shot down a measure considering banning foie gras from being served in restaurants across the city.
The dish is made from the liver of a force-fed goose or duck.
Councilor Mitch Green said the production of foie gras is inhumane and environmentally unsustainable.
For more than two decades, foie gras opponents in Portland have demonstrated at upscale restaurants that serve the delicacy.
Some restaurants, like St. Jack, say they removed foie gras from their menus after protests.
Vegan chef and author Miyoko Schinner told the council that she loves and honors French cuisine, but doesn’t believe cruelty is needed to create luxury.
“I’ve spent my life trying to emulate [French cuisine] in books, restaurants, and businesses I’ve had, but with plants only. I don’t believe we need cruelty to create luxury,” she said. “As a chef, I know luxurious cuisine comes from fresh ingredients combined with technique and ingenuity…If you’re a creative chef, you shouldn’t have to rely on a specific ingredient to make or break your menu.”
However, Andrew Fortgang, co-owner and wine director of the award-winning restaurants Le Pigeon and Canard, commented in opposition, stating that the farms which source foie gras are organic, open to visitors and journalists and ran by immigrant families.
“The true horror story of poultry production in this country is factory farmed chicken, where hundreds of thousands of chickens are kept in close confinement, full of antibiotics because of the squalid conditions,” Forgang said. “But that industry is too big to go after, so small family-owned duck farms become the target.”
He continued, “A ban on foie gras would be performative action making no substantive change for the environment or animal welfare in Portland or in the United States of America.”
Councilors discussed the proposed city-wide ban on Tuesday morning, hearing from several other speakers on the topic. The council did not recommend the measure forward after the hearing.
A presentation from Pro-Animal Future, which has a Portland chapter that is backing an end to the sale of foie gras, said the economic impact would be negligible as only 1% of Rose City businesses sell the dish, adding that it could easily be replaced on the menu with a more ethically-sourced item.
Several other cities and states, including California, have banned its sale.