Keep off the gras: New Jersey vs. duck liver.

• Author: Weigel, David
• Position: Citings - Brief article

NO ONE IN the state of New Jersey produces foie gras, and no Garden State farmer has announced any plans to start force-feeding ducks or selling liver pate. But that hasn't stopped two members of the state Assembly from proposing legislation to regulate the process and ban the pricey snack.

Foie gras makers have been on the run in Europe and the U.S. for more than a decade. Before New Jersey got into the game, the process of producing the food had been banned in most of Western Europe, Poland, Finland, and Israel. In April 2006, the city of Chicago passed a ban on foie gras that drew immediate criticism from Mayor Richard M. Daley and local gourmet chefs.

Windy City restaurants protested by serving foie gras and other forbidden foods in August. But for New Jersey Assemblyman Michael Panter, the ban was an inspiration, not a provocation. He joined with fellow Democratic legislator...