Chicago Ban Foie Gras - Do you agree with me?

Question

Write to the alderman and Mayor @ www.cityofchicago.org/
CityCouncil/

What was once a fine city that embodied personal freedom and true character has been reduced to a kindergarden.

Are you mad? Shall Chicago be known as “Sweethome P.E.T.A.”? For goodness sake, take a look ANY food and analyze the care of the livestock. Just because it is enjoyed by few I suppose it is easy to ban.

So you care about geese and ignore cows and chickens? Why not get on a plane and inspect all of McDonald's processing faculties and ban their restaurants? If as alderman you think you should be food police then equally apply your justice across all foods/delicacies. If fois gras should be banned, leave it to the federal govenment.

You are a sad group and ruining a city I used to be proud of calling my hometown. I travel to Chicago often and spend a lot of money at restaurants such as Tru. No more!

What a pitiful waste of time, invasion of individual rights and ruination of a great American city.

Answer 1

I am a native Chicagoan who has since moved to Texas. Being a native, I know our attitude towards Texas. We believe we are more open-minded in the city of big shoulders. After living in Houston and a smaller town all I can say is think again! The dumbest thing Texas has done since I have lived here is attempting to cite bar patrons for public intoxication if they appear to be over the limit. It was a foolish practice and pointed out as such. Therefore, the state of Texas stopped.
Chicago has now done two very dumb things in less than 6 months. Foie Gras is a minor issue compared to the "Big Box Amendment" which will require large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe's and others to start their pay at 10 dollars an hour and contribute an amount to health insurance.
In Mayor Daley's defense, he is against both proposals. He will likely veto the big-box amendment, however he probably does not have time for Foie Gras. It is stupid, but trivial at best.

Answer 2

When Foie Gras is outlawed, only outlaws will have Foie Gras. This is foolishness. A city has no business getting this far into people's lives.

What are the penalties going to be if someone is found eating Foie Gras, or possessing it or trafficing in it? As if the existing police have time to fool with this issue. How many new police officers are going to be hired to be on Foie Gras Patrol? Are children going to be encouraged at school to turn in their parents if they eat Foie Gras? Can you trust your friends?

I'm sure there are a few greenbeans and a couple of geese who are happy with this decision, but it is lunacy. Be careful Chicago, pretty soon they'll be banning your automobile for all the bugs and animals that are killed by them every year. And no more fly swatters or mouse traps.

Answer 3

Well, its unfortunate that a specific food type has to be banned but I hope people will take this as an oportunity to think twice about what they eat and how its produced.

There are large societal costs to justify these actions and I can only hope further bans will be enacted to help force changes in farming practices. If that implies higher prices, so be it.

For those not willing to do a google search, Foie Gras is no different than most of the meat type products people eat. Producers attempting to maximize profit keep far too many animals in too close proximity to each other. As such, they pump the animals full of antibiotics to keep them healthy and they give animals gowth hormones and other feedstuffs to make them grow un-naturally.

The consequence of all this that the antibiotics and hormones are still in the meat when people consume them. FRANKEN FOOD is a very real concern that poses a threat to society. Viruses are becoming resistant to most anitbiotics (bird flu as an example) and that poses a tremendous risk to society.

And yes, the same argument applies to most of the beef, chicken, porks - eggs, milk cheese that you all eat.

You can scream and yell all you want but simply spending a little more for ORGANIC and FREE-RANGE products is a step in the right direction. Send your letters to Mc Donalds and every other restaurant and DEMAND higher quality food.

No one has repealed the laws of supply and demand. Business's will not change their offerings until they are forced to by goverment legislation or consumers start voicing their demand - by pen or dollar.

If Foie Gras had to be the sacrificial lamb, so be it. Maybe hot dogs should be next.

In the end, you are what you eat and I choose to have Darwin on my side.

Answer 4

The saddest part of most of the answers to this question is that most seem to think this issue is really about how a goose is treated. It is not at all.

It seems that most Americans today have forgotten what the generation that fought and won WWII lived, believed and very often died for. FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not to mention that most haven't the slightest clue about the precepts this country was founded on.

If you ask 100 Americans on the street what type of government our country has, at least 99 will reply "democracy".

The U.S.A. is not and never has been a democracy. We are a republic with democratically elected leaders.

If you ask 1000 Americans what a public place is, at least 999 will give a restraunt as an example. A restraunt or bar is not a public place unless it was built or bought and owned with taxpayers dollars such as a restraunt at a government park.

A privatley owned restraunt, whether it be a mom and pop shop or a national chain is not a public place. It is private property that the owner chooses to allow the public to enter.

A business that practices unacceptable acts should be punished by a lack of business. The people have the right and freedom, or at least they should have, to decide for themselves what busniness practices they choose to support.

Anyone who encourages a government to think, speak and protect it's citizens has no clue what freedom means or why our forefathers left socialist countries to come here and start over.

Many Americans seem to think that we have the right or are promised life, liberty and happiness. Keep in mind that we are not. We used to be and still should be promised the right to persue...........

Where will we go when we are the poor, the tired and the weary and there is no statue of liberty waiting for us to be excited about the opportunity to be granted the freedom to persue life, liberty and happiness?

Answer 5

I'm quite confused how this is an invasion of individual freedoms and personal rights. Are you guys the ones personally creating the foie gras in your own home? I really doubt it. What right is exactly being invaded. Just because we are American does not mean we get unconditional unlimted rights. If you can showe me where in the Bill fo Rights it says we have the right to eat whatever we want, let me know.

And why should it be left to the Federal government to create this ban. Do you know anything about federalism and individual state rights? The federal government should not have to step in every time somebody wants something done.

Whats the reasoning in not banning one thing because we are not banning all things? That just doesn't make sense.

The way that foie gras is created is incredibly painful, cruel and pointless. So we fat Americans can enjoy a piece of liver. I guess you would probably have no problem killing elephants because someone wants to enjoy a ivory sculpture in their home.

Answer 6

only outlaws will have Foie Gras. This is foolishness. A city has no business getting this far into people's lives.

What are the penalties going to be if someone is found eating Foie Gras, or possessing it or trafficing in it? As if the existing police have time to fool with this issue. How many new police officers are going to be hired to be on Foie Gras Patrol? Are children going to be encouraged at school to turn in their parents if they eat Foie Gras? Can you trust your friends?

Answer 7

Foie Gras. So some of you agree with the Chicago City Council? Do us all a favor, first pull out those canine teeth you have evolved with. Humans are omnivores. We eat everything. Belut, anyone? Nasty stuff, but Filipinos love it, pinfeathers, toenails, and all.

Making a law against foie gras is mindless on the surface, but PETA has strong inroads in our politics in this city. This IS the city where special interests get their way above all else. In order to pay for their stupidity, we have the highest gas prices in the nation (taxes), nearly the highest cigarette prices in the nation (taxes again), and ruinous property taxes to boot.

When does the common man stop paying for the whims of uncommon boneheads like PETA and their like?

I've met Didier Durand, the Chicago chef leading the fight against these idiots, and I have nothing but respect for the man. His policy is simple. If you don't like it....DON'T EAT IT.

Idiots are everywhere. Chicago just elects more of them. Give them enough time and everyone will have to wear a life preserver to go swimming, regardless of age. Pocketknives will be banned within the city, and smoking will be banned in private homes, due to the health risk. Hell, give em time and they'll ban alcohol. Given this city's history, what they're doing now is a crying shame.

Answer 8

I do not agree with you. Im proud that I live in a city that is willing to be progressive and not be afraid of enacting laws that will protect its citizens. For those people that believe that Foi Gras is being banned because it high amount of heart-saturating fat, they are very sadly mistaken. Foi Gras is made by force-feeding ducks and geese until their livers blow up. This is extremely painful and inhumane to the poor ducks and geese, and such a ban should have been passed years ago.
Chicago aldermen are setting a great example for the rest of the nation and are taking Chicago in the direction that nation policy should go. Im proud of living in Chicago, the model of what every great city should be.

Answer 9

There are several things you should know:

1. Mayor Daley had the right to veto this ordinance, like any other council ordinance, and there weren't the votes on council to overturn this veto. For him to come out now that the ordinance is going into effect and stating publically he will not enforce it is grandstanding; if he had guts he would have vetoed it.

2. Restauranteurs in Chicago are suing over this, but it's likely the case will fail. They believe that since the foie gras is created somewhere else, where the presumed criminal conditions are applied to the geese, the council has no authority over the matter. This is specious at best; the council has banned a number of different items for sale in Chicago; spray paint is one example of a product that isn't manufactured in Chicago (though its ozone-damaging effects would presumably occur becuase of use in Chicago).

3. Daley's real aim is to distract Chicagoans from the growing list of scandals linked to his administration: city hall hiring and kickbacks to trucking agencies are just the latest. These are the reasons he's losing his till-now iron-fisted grip on the council; witness the recent smoking ban, where Daley had to actually negotiate over the ordinance with the city council.

I laughed out loud when I saw the headline "Chicago is a nanny-state". I've lived in Chicago for the past 20 years, and have never felt this to be true. In the end, I don't really care whether or not foie gras is banned in Chicago--I would of course choose not to eat it, just as I believe anyone with a conscience would)--but the right-wing hysteria over such trivialities is hilarious to watch. But such is the great distraction that is modern politics: In this case worthless arguments intended to keep our eye off the real eyesore that is the rampant corruption in Mayor Daley's city hall. I'm a Democrat, but I'll never ever vote for that liar.

Answer 10

While I believe that the treatment of the animals is inhumane, I support Mayor Daley in saying this is not an issue that should be brought before the city council.

I ask the alderman to take a look at his clothing, made in various parts of the world, under conditions we may see as deplorable.

Will they ban sneakers made by children in sweat shops? Or underwear made in sweatshops in Sri Lanka?

The insult to Chicago taxpayers is the fact that this even made it to vote in chamber. How about paying more attention to the children of our city, the students, the elderly, the potholes, the crime. Those blue flashing lights on light poles need attention, not some duck we cannot help in another part of the world.

Foie Gras sales will go up as a result.

I suggest the people of the 49th ward elect another alderman who will apply his efforts towards REAL issues. What a joke this guy is.

Just me 2 cents worth.