Res. No. 894
Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to support and pass legislation that would make it unlawful to force feed a bird, by hand or machine, for the purpose of the fatty enlargement of the bird's liver.
By Council Members Dromm, Brewer, Chin, Lander, Mendez and Williams
Whereas, The delicacy known as "foie gras," from the French for "fatty liver," is made from the livers of force-fed ducks and geese in order to be served as pâté, sausages, and purées; and
Whereas, In order to produce foie gras, ducks and geese are force-fed so that their livers are enlarged to five to twelve times their normal size, a process in which a thick metal pipe is pushed down a bird's throat several times a day and a large amount of food, often partially cooked corn, is released into its stomach; and
Whereas, During this process, compressed air is forced through the pipe to ensure the bird is fed an excessive amount; and
Whereas, This process generally entails three to four weeks of daily feedings until the animal is slaughtered; and
Whereas, This process causes the birds tremendous suffering, including ruptured organs and health problems like hepatic lipidosis (a painful liver disease which, when suffered by humans, requires draining of accumulated fluid from the abdomen), pneumonia (a lung disease caused by food entering the birds' lungs during force feeding), asphyxiation (suffocation caused when feeders accidentally push food into the birds' windpipes), and bone fractures (due to the lack of basic nutrients including calcium in the birds' force-fed diets); and
Whereas, Various companies, including the San Franciso Hilton, Chicago's Pump Room, New York's Loewe's hotel chain, Air Canada, American Airlines, the Scandinavian airline SAS, and the Park Slope Food Co-op have stopped selling foie gras; and
Whereas, The State of California passed a bill banning the force feeding of ducks and geese to produce foie gras and the production of foie gras is banned in Denmark, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Australia, and Israel; and
Whereas, It is estimated that a New York law prohibiting force-feeding would diminish production of foie gras by as much as fifty percent in the United States; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to support and pass legislation that would make it unlawful to force feed a bird, by hand or machine, for the purpose of the fatty enlargement of the bird's liver.
Res No. 1456-2008
LS # 2112
6/9/11