End NYCs foie-gras ban before it takes effect

As the city’s 2019 ban on foie gras sales kicks in after years of litigation, the state’s highest court should take up a final appeal that could settle this issue — and lift the ban.In February 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law the measure banning the French delicacy citywide by 2022 in response to animal-rights activists’ claims that the process is cruel to the birds who provide the livers.Foie gras, French for “fatty liver,” is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese through a tube-feeding process before harvesting.New York City restaurants and distributors generate a good chunk of their business, so plaintiffs La Belle Farm and Hudson Valley Foie Gras depend heavily on access to the NYC market.The latter, one of the nation’s last producers, argues that its farming methods are more humane than industrial factory operations; plus, state agricultural laws should override local bans, protecting Hudson Valley and Sullivan County producers and their hundreds of workers (many of them immigrants) from NYC’s diktats.Whatever the concerns about “factory-farmed” foods, bringing any animal to the table is arguably just as inhumane — which is why so many animal-rightsers are vegetarians or even vegans.That is: This is about the ethical beliefs of a tiny (but oh-so-loud) fraction of New Yorkers, however they hide behind other dubious claims like “improving global food policy.” Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Please provide a valid email.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story.The ban isn’t even good for the birds it claims to protect, since the foie gras business in fact supports far larger goose and duck populations than would otherwise be economical.Yet it’s the primacy of state law and agricultural policy that’s key here: The city has no right to dictate to farms operating hundreds of miles outside its limits by ...