After a two-year-old ban against foie gras, a dish made of
duck and goose liver, the Chicago officials decided to make it legal again.
Apparently, after banning the gourmet dish because it was a
sign of cruelty against animals, Chicago’s
aldermen changed their minds. After all, they’re politicians, right?
It remains a mystery how a law passed in April 2006 by a
vote of 48-1 was overturned Wednesday by a vote of 37-6 with no debate.
According to the Chicago Tribune, since 2006, when Chicago became the first major city in the United States
to enact such a ban, the law had been mocked by critics, beginning with Mayor Richard
M. Daley, who wondered whether aldermen should really be concerned what
Chicagoans eat.
“There’s been extensive, extensive, extensive debate on
this. This has been talked about, debated about constantly by international,
national, local press, media, by the whole hospitality, culinary field, all of
it . . . This has been going on forever,” Daley told reporters after the
council meeting.
According to the New York Times, a supporter of the ban,
alderman Joe Moore tried to state his opinion at the council, arguing that foie
gras is a product of animal cruelty, but there was no debate aloud.
“This is a sad day for good government in Chicago. There was a feeling among many that
they just didn’t want to deal with this anymore,” said Moore referring to his colleagues who were
embarrassed by the national critics.
Of course that restaurant owners and chefs are very excited
that the ban was lifted and the fact that foie gras is produced by sticking
tubes down the throats of ducks and geese and feeding them until their livers
swell to 10 times their normal size isn’t at all relevant.
Representatives from the Humane Society and People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals said they found out about the repeal vote on
Tuesday night, too late to organize a protest or some other action.
“This was truly the industry's dirty political maneuvering
at its worst,” PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt said, as the Chicago Tribune
reported.
