Foie Gras: Yes or No?

The Chicago City Council recently banned foie gras. Apparently they did not approve because it was considered animal cruelty to produce the livers. This alone left me stunned. They picked out a particular food and banned it? What about regular chickens? They live short, miserable lives in a tiny cage. How about veal? I'm surprised they didn't toss that in with the foie gras.

Culinary Roundtable is a new podcast produced by the Culinary Podcast Network. The first episode featured a group of food writers and podcasters discussing the pros and cons of the foie gras ban. They started out with people on both sides of the issue who then had a lively (but polite) discussion. I found it very interesting and am really looking forward to their next topic in a couple of weeks.

Personally, on the foie gras issue I'd have to see some more scientific evidence about how cruel it actually is before believing it (listen to the podcast for thoughts on how the French ever discovered "large livered" geese in the first place). On the personal freedoms front, I already disapprove of public bans on smoking so you can guess where I come down on the foie gras ban.