CNN
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New York State has determined that New York City’s ban on foie gras, stuffed foie gras or duck gras violates state law, according to documents filed in New York City Superior Court.
The state Department of Agriculture and Markets notified city officials Wednesday that the ban “unreasonably restricts” the operations of two farms that are suing the city over the ban, La Belle Farms and Hudson Valley foie gras.
New York City A bill originally passed in 2019 banned restaurants and retailers from selling fatty duck or foie gras, considered by some to be a delicacy.
In a letter to the mayor of New York Eric Adams and Stephen Lewis, director of the Division of Legal Counsel, the department asked for “confirmation from New York City that it will not enforce its ban on force-feeding products sold by Hudson Valley foie gras and Labelle Farms.”
The city’s ban on foie gras was originally scheduled to take effect on Nov. 25. However, a state Supreme Court judge suspended the ban in September as a lawsuit by two upstate New York farms proceeded in court.
The original bill to ban foie gras referred to the luxury product as a “force-feeding product,” and in a statement to CNN in 2019, City Councilman Carlina Rivera, the bill’s lead sponsor, ) called force-feeding an “inhumane practice”.
What makes foie gras so controversial is the method of preparation. Foie gras, made from fatty duck, or foie gras, has long been considered a French delicacy — so much so that France protects it as part of its cultural heritage.
But the product was made by force-feeding ducks or geese, a practice that upset many, like Rivera.
“As a lifelong advocate for animal rights, I am delighted that the council voted to pass this historic legislation banning the sale of these specific force-fed animal products,” Rivera said in 2019.
Foie gras has always been a bone of contention.
In 2012, California’s foie gras ban went into effect, but the ban was overturned in 2015. Then, in 2017, a circuit court judge upheld the injunction — a decision that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2019.