State Representative Robert Molaro (D-21st) is not finding much appetite among his fellow state legislators for banning the sale and production of foie gras in Illinois. Last week Molaro, who represents sizeable parts of Riverside and Brookfield, failed to get his bill to ban foie gras out of the state House of Representatives Judiciary Committee where his bill received only three votes.
But Molaro is not ready to give up, though he conceded last week that the odds were against him.
"I'm still short four or five votes on it," Molaro said last week. "I don't have the votes yet in the committee. It's probably 60/40 against me being able to move this thing forward."
Molaro said that he needs eight votes in committee to get the bill to the House floor.
Foie gras, French for fatty liver, is a culinary delicacy. It is the liver of a duck or a goose. Foie gras is produced by force feeding the animal three or four times day with up to one third of their weight in food at each feeding. This force feeding causes the liver of the animal to expand to up to 10 times the normal size, according to animal welfare activists.
Molaro and animal rights activists liken this to torture.
"We don't allow animals to be tortured," said Molaro. "The only thing that allows torture is the production of foie gras. You have to force feed these animals three or four times a day with a steel tube that you put down their throats. It causes a disease of the liver which causes the liver to expand and almost explode, and that's why they have to kill them when they're about 10 weeks old."
In April 2006 the City Council of Chicago voted 48-1 to ban foie gras in Chicago. California has enacted the only statewide ban in the United States, but California's ban does not take effect until 2012.
The delicacy isn't a common ingredient at meals prepared at local restaurants, but it isn't unknown. Chew Chew Cafe in Riverside serves foie gras only on special occasions such as New Year's Eve and at special wine dinners due to its cost, which can range from $12 to $20 for a small portion, according to Chew Chew owner Scott Zimmer.
"It's not a standard menu item," said Zimmer. "It's pretty expensive and does appeal to a small market."
Still, Zimmer thinks that banning foie gras is a bad idea.
"Personally I think every business should have the ability to serve what its clients are going to enjoy," said Zimmer. "Let the consumer be the ultimate decider of what they eat or decide not to eat."
The Illinois Restaurant Association has lobbied against Molaro's bill.
"We believe there is no reason for this," said Andrew Ariens, the director of communications of the association. "It's a very, very subjective perspective upon which to base a law. What's objectionable to one person may be acceptable to another.
"It puts us on a very slippery slope that puts businesses at the mercy of personal taste when it should be personal choice," he added.
