Portland’s foie gras ban fails in committee, but it might not be cooked

A proposed citywide ban on the sale of foie gras in Portland failed to advance out of committee Tuesday. But it’s not dead yet.

After a debate that pitted animal rights activists against fine dining restaurateurs, councilors on the Arts & Economy Committee rejected the policy 3-2. But Councilor Mitch Green, who co-authored the ban, said he will use a different legislative tool to advance the policy forward.

“This is an incremental approach to changing our food system,” said Green. “It doesn’t have the support of this committee this time. So I won’t try to change your mind any further.”

City code allows an ordinance to circumvent the city’s committee process if four out of 12 councilors demand it gets a full council hearing.

The proposal was supported by animal rights activists, who have lobbied City Hall for years to ban foie gras, a fatty liver dish traditionally made by force-feeding ducks or geese.

“The production of foie gras involves exceptionally egregious cruelty,” said. Lindsay Vierheilig, speaking on behalf of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. “Passing this ban would be a common sense and low impact way to reinforce Portland’s commitment to high welfare standards.”

Not all foie gras is the result of force-feeding. The proposed policy only focuses on restaurants and businesses that sell “force-fed poultry products.”

Under the policy, any retail establishment that sells force-fed poultry could be fined up to $5,000 per violation. A fine would only be imposed if the business refused to stop selling foie gras two weeks after receiving a written warning from the city. It’s not immediately clear how the new rule would be enforced.

California and two U.S. cities — Pittsburgh, Pa. and Brookline, Mass. — have recently banned the sale of foie gras.

Portland food industry experts estimate that the ban would impact fewer than 10 Portland businesses. Several restaurateurs spoke Tuesday about how the policy punishes Portland’s small fine dining industry, which has spurred tourism, international acclaim, and local pride.

Andrew Fortgang, co-owner of Portland French restaurant Le Pigeon, said that all of the foie gras consumed in Portland comes from two farms in upstate New York that treat ducks humanely. He said the policy was misguided and “performative.”

“The true horror story of poultry production in this country is factory farm chicken, where hundreds of thousands of chickens are kept in close confinement, pumped full of antibiotics because of the squalid conditions,” Fortgang said. “But that industry is too big to go after, so small, family-owned duck farms become the target.”

The committee’s majority sided with Fortgang and other restaurateurs.

“I think that if animal welfare is really the goal here, that we need to start at scale and not symbolism,” said Councilor Olivia Clark, pointing to Portlanders’ consumption of factory farmed animals.

Councilors Dan Ryan and Loretta Smith joined Clark in opposing the policy. They questioned the need to prioritize this ban, while more pressing issues loom over the city.

Green and Councilor Jamie Dunphy — who co-sponsored the policy — voted in favor.

Dunphy said he was sympathetic to the argument that the city isn’t targeting larger factory farms.

“But I don’t play ‘what-about-ism,’” he said. “We only have a limited number of tools that we have at our disposal as the city of Portland.”

While the proposal failed, Green said he will find support from three other councilors to advance it to a full council meeting. That will need the sign-off of the council’s president, who is Dunphy.

It’s not immediately clear when that proposal would land on the council agenda. If adopted, it would go into effect within 90 days.