(By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com) The New York City Council is made up of 51 members.  They introduce and vote on legislation that controls all aspects of city life.  Currently, the New York City Council members are  considering legislation that would ban foie gras from being sold in New York.  The reason is that they believe that the way these birds are fed constitutes terrible cruelty to animals. The bill has half of the Council signed on as co-sponsors, and Mayor de Blasio himself said that he supports the intent of the proposal.  The bill may be set to be voted on in the fall, The question is, what does halacha say about all of this?  Is there cruelty to animals involved here?  Are there other kashrus issues in Foie gras as well? A JEWISH FOOD Foie gras, shockingly enough has historically been known as a Jewish food. It can either be made from fattened goose or duck. In this case, the one made from ducks is used and is supervised by the OU. A famous German mercenary soldier and poet who was a contemporary of the Ramah, Hans Wilhelm Kirchhof,  wrote in 1562 that the Jews raise fat geese and particularly love consuming their livers. Indeed, the pope’s own chef, Bartolomeo Scappi, chef to Pope Pius V, writes in his cookbook, “the liver of [a] domestic goose raised by the Jews is of extreme size and weighs [between] two and three pounds.” Clearly, the food was identified as a Jewish food in the time of the Shulchan Aruch. MODERN FOIE GRAS STANDARDS ARE QUITE HIGH In the past, some have raised questions about the kashrus of foie gras, but Rav Yisroel Belsky zt”l of the OU researched many of the issues and permitted it. This author also conducted research into the matter and believes that the foie gras industry has been subjected to Lashon Harah. In conversation with the Av Beis Din of Paris, France, Rav Yirmiyahu Menachem Cohen, the author discovered that he shares the same view.  What follows is an in-depth analysis of the underlying issues. THE PROCESS The goose is raised normally until it reaches its natural weight of about nine pounds.  The force-feeding then begins, where the geese are fed about one pound of feed three times a day with a specialized feeding machine that measures the amount of feed and has a tube that is inserted into the duck or goose.  This is done for approximately three weeks, until the goose reaches an astounding 18 pounds.  The liver grows at a disproportionate rate, increasing to some four to six times its natural weight. Some places do the force-feeding manually through what appears to be a huge eye-dropper that is forced down the goose’s throat, which could cause the esophagus to be injured. Nowadays, the kosher force-feeding done in France and Hungary, is done through a soft pvc pipe. The type of feed used is also crucial. If the feed is ground thinly then there are less injuries, but issues can still arise. Historically, after the Columbine exchange brought corn to Europe, farmers realized the marbleizing capabilities of corn in the fat and began to use corn as feed instead of grains. In recent years, proponents of kosher foie gras production, claim that the […]