The future of foie gras is on shaky ground in Portland. A proposed ordinance would ban the sale of foie gras within city limits, with restaurants receiving a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 for each violation.
Foie gras is a luxury ingredient made by force-feeding ducks until their livers become fatty and enlarged. Proponents believe that the production of foie gras is cruel, contributes to environmental pollution, and could increase the risk of illnesses like bird flu due to the birds’ weakened immune systems. Similar bans have been enacted in California, New York City, and many European countries, and Portland should join the movement, they say. But many opponents say that their foie gras, along with many of their other animal products, come from small family-owned farms, and that protestors should focus on the much more widespread practice of factory farming. They’re also concerned that a ban could harm Portland’s vibrant food scene at a time when the economy is fragile. The ingredient, for instance, is key to the foie gras profiteroles at Le Pigeon, the restaurant that helped put Portland’s culinary scene on the map in 2006.
Portland City Council held a hearing on the ordinance, which was brought by city councilors Mitch Green, Angelita Morillo, Tiffany Koyama Lane, and council president Jamie Dunphy, on Wednesday, April 29. It was the second time the ordinance had been brought before council, having failed before the Arts and Economy committee in a 3-2 vote in January. Over 75 people signed up to provide testimony on Wednesday, bringing out advocates from two of Portland’s most prominent groups—animal rights activists, many of them wearing bright green “Pro Animal Oregon” t-shirts, as well as restaurant owners and industry supporters. (Of course, not everyone falls into one camp or the other—take vegan chefs, for instance, or meat-cooking chefs who avoid the ingredient.) The debate brings up bigger questions of what the city should value now.
While no decision was made at the hearing this week, Green’s office told the Mercury that discussion would resume in May. In the meantime, here are some highlights that caught our attention over the course of the hour-and-a-half long discussion.
“Any chef claiming the success of their restaurant depends on any single product is not only being melodramatic and sensational, they’re just a bad chef, as far as I’m concerned.” —Ryan Koger, chef at Feral
“People come to Portland to eat. People come for our restaurants. They spend money on shopping and hotels. They come for my foie gras profiteroles. …When you’re in the news for making it legal to smoke crack on our sidewalks, you might want to think twice about making duck liver illegal.” —Gabriel Rucker, chef-owner of Le Pigeon and Canard
“The proposed ordinance and supporting documents presented with it are not representative of the foie gras that is actually sold in Portland. …La Belle Farms is where the foie gras we use comes from, as well as the majority of the foie gras served in Portland. It is owned by Salvadoran immigrants. It is a 40-acre vertically integrated farm, meaning they grow their own corn and soy for feed, and the manure is redistributed to their fields as well as their neighbors for fertilizer. The ducks are kept in well ventilated, climate controlled barns, where they have plenty of space to roam within those barns, never in cages. Not only is the liver used, all of the duck is used and sold. None goes to waste. This is exactly the type of farming we should be encouraging.” —Andy Fortgang, co-owner of Le Pigeon and Canard
“If Portland chefs believed in this product and believed the people in Portland wanted to eat it, there would be more than eight places that currently sell it.” —Marisa Kroes, owner of Orange and Blossom Patisserie
“Two days ago, in a conversation with Councilor Novick, I learned this proposal has been in development for nearly a year, and during that entire time, neither Councilor Green nor Councilor Dunphy made any meaningful effort to engage the industry this policy would impact. It’s deplorable how this has come to a vote without engaging an industry like ours that has done more for the city’s reputation and tourism than any other industry by tenfold.” —Kurt Huffman, CEO of ChefStable
“Prohibiting foie gras sales would result in no economic harm. …Currently, only seven restaurants and one retailer [in Portland] are selling [foie gras]. For those businesses who do sell it, it’s an insignificant source of revenue, a single niche product that can easily be replaced with a more local, ethical, and sustainable alternative. As proof of concept of the negligible economic impact, seven Portland businesses have begun phasing out foie gras with no reported loss in revenue, customer, traffic, or jobs.” —Sam Schillinger, campaign director of Pro-Animal Oregon and District 3 resident
“I’ve had the luxury and the pleasure and the privilege of working with the culinary community in Portland for 20 years. I started Feast Portland, among some other projects, and this community represents the very best of what the city does in terms of sourcing, in terms of sustainability, stewardship, regeneration, in terms of keeping the neighborhoods alive, in terms of creating jobs, tax revenue. All that I would ask, before we make decisions, we do a better job to engage with this community and respect what they do before we blanket bans and, you know, really, as leaders, find ways for all of us to work together to address larger issues related to animal cruelty.” —Mike Thelin, culinary consultant and former co-founder of Feast Portland
“The life and well-being of a sentient being should always take priority over another’s ‘choice’ to use another’s body for sensory pleasure or profit.” —Marika Diaz, District 3 resident
“It feels like our character is being questioned by city government that claims it wants to support small business, but has not consistently backed those claims out.” —Kelsey Glasser, owner of Arden Restaurant
“I support this ban. I hope that you do too, because it’s pretty simple. Go Ducks.” —Sean Rice, District 3 resident wearing a Pro-Animal Oregon shirt and holding a “Go Ducks” sign. (Councilor Dan Ryan held up his hands in an O shape in response.)