Post by peteetongman on Jul 17, 2014 22:10:04 GMT -5
NEW YORK – California’s ban on force-feeding ducks and geese to produce foie gras could become an entrée on the U.S. Supreme Court’s summer menu.
According to a state law that was adopted in 2004 but didn’t take effect until two years ago, “a product may not be sold in California if it is the result of force-feeding a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird’s liver beyond normal size,” the typical method of producing the rich and buttery delicacy.
But 13 states – including South Carolina, Missouri, Kansas and Georgia - say the ban unconstitutionally interferes with interstate commerce. They say California’s ban on the sale and production of foie gras restricts the delicacy’s legal production in states that never agreed to the ban and is hurting the businesses of out-of-state farmers.
The issue, attorneys for the 13 states agreed in a brief supporting the case, which was brought by Santa Monica, Calif.-based attorney Michael Tenenbaum, “is of exceptional importance to the preservation of state sovereignty.”
Tenenbaum represents some opponents of the law, including a California restaurant company, a New York foie gras producer and a Canadian organization of duck and goose farmers. The 13 states filed a separate brief making similar arguments.
California Deputy Attorney General Stephanie Zook, who led preparation of the state’s 14-page Supreme Court brief defending the ban, cited evidence that “force-feeding causes ducks’ livers to swell to 10 times their normal size.” Violations of the law are punishable by fines of up to $1,000 per sale per day, though its enforcement has not been strict.
www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/17/california-foie-gras-ban-waddles-to-supreme-court/?intcmp=latestnews
According to a state law that was adopted in 2004 but didn’t take effect until two years ago, “a product may not be sold in California if it is the result of force-feeding a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird’s liver beyond normal size,” the typical method of producing the rich and buttery delicacy.
But 13 states – including South Carolina, Missouri, Kansas and Georgia - say the ban unconstitutionally interferes with interstate commerce. They say California’s ban on the sale and production of foie gras restricts the delicacy’s legal production in states that never agreed to the ban and is hurting the businesses of out-of-state farmers.
The issue, attorneys for the 13 states agreed in a brief supporting the case, which was brought by Santa Monica, Calif.-based attorney Michael Tenenbaum, “is of exceptional importance to the preservation of state sovereignty.”
Tenenbaum represents some opponents of the law, including a California restaurant company, a New York foie gras producer and a Canadian organization of duck and goose farmers. The 13 states filed a separate brief making similar arguments.
California Deputy Attorney General Stephanie Zook, who led preparation of the state’s 14-page Supreme Court brief defending the ban, cited evidence that “force-feeding causes ducks’ livers to swell to 10 times their normal size.” Violations of the law are punishable by fines of up to $1,000 per sale per day, though its enforcement has not been strict.
www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/17/california-foie-gras-ban-waddles-to-supreme-court/?intcmp=latestnews