Animal rights supporters say production of foie gras amounts to animal cruelty, because the ducks and geese are force-fed in order to fatten their livers.
The full city council will vote on the ban next week. Chicago is only the latest place to consider a ban. Legislators in Oregon, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts have all discussed outlawing the food. But so far, according to NoFoieGras.org, the only place in the U.S. to actually institute a ban is California. There, lawmakers passed a measure last year that prohibits the production and sale of foie gras, although the prohibition doesn't kick in until 2012.
It's pretty hard to argue that force-feeding an animal three times a day, engorging its liver to 10 times the normal size, isn't cruel. As more states and localities consider bans, foie gras may be a sitting duck.
