PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Pro Animal Oregon rallied at Portland City Hall Wednesday, urging leaders to ban foie gras -- duck or goose liver produced through a fattening process the group calls inhumane.
The item remains on menus at some Portland restaurants, but advocates say the method behind it is unacceptable.
Pro Animal Oregon provided photos they say show birds being force-fed. Executive Director Eva Hamer told supporters the practice amounts to extreme cruelty.
"Foie Gras is something that represents such an intense cruelty... when we're talking about force feeding. Literally shoving a tube down a bird's throat," Hamer said.
Organizers said the message drew a strong showing at City Hall, with more than 80 people attending in support of the ban. They also reported more than 700 written testimonies backing the effort.
"It is amazing to see so many people -- so many people I don't even know -- coming out to support this issue," Hamer said. "To speak really from the heart about how moved they are by the cruelty and by the potential to move it away."
But some in the restaurant industry warned a foie gras ban could carry consequences for local businesses. Gabriel Rucker, executive chef and owner of Le Pigeon in east Portland, said the ingredient has been central to his work and could affect his bottom line.
"Is foie gras one of the ingredients that defined my career and that people know me for and people come to eat at my restaurant? Yes," Rucker said. "So, will it impact me, 100 percent."
Rucker, who has operated Le Pigeon for two decades, also argued a ban could ripple into Portland's tourism economy. He said his restaurant sources foie gras from what he described as a well-respected farmer in New York, and he criticized the push as part of a broader anti-animal agriculture agenda.
"While I have the deepest amount of respect for any Portlander's opinion, the people that are pushing this foie gras ban are pretty much against the farming and slaughtering of any animal to be eaten," Rucker said. "And the foie gras is just the easy target for them because going after the beef industry and the chicken industry is much harder."
Rucker said education -- not prohibition -- is the better approach, arguing consumers should be informed about food quality rather than restricted in what they can order.
Pro Animal Oregon said testimony is expected to continue at City Hall next week. The proposal would then move to Portland City Council for a vote the following week.