Brazil’s Largest City Bans Foie Gras

Last week, Saõ Paulo—the largest city in Brazil and a gastronomical hub—banned the production and sale of foie gras. The law has a grace period of 45 days after which all restaurants will be required to remove the item from their menus. In order to produce foie gras, ducks are force-fed through a tube during the last weeks of their lives to intentionally cause their livers to swell up to 10 times their normal size. France produces 75 percent of the world’s foie gras and claims that the engorged liver is part of their cultural heritage. A number of countries around the world—including Argentina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Turkey, and the UK—have also banned the “delicacy.” In 2012, California was the only region in the world where both the production and sale of foie gras was banned and enforceable by a $1,000 fine. Sadly, the Golden State overturned the ban in 2014.