Au revoir, foie gras?
An animal rights activist group is petitioning for a ballot initiative in Washington, D.C., that would take foie gras off D.C. restaurant menus.
The group Pro-Animal D.C. has begun collecting signatures and placing signs around the district in support of its proposed “Prohibiting Force-Feeding of Birds Act of 2026.” The proposed bill, which the group is hoping to put on D.C.’s 2026 ballot for a referendum, would ban both the sale of foie gras, which is fattened bird liver, and the force-feeding method in which producers enlarge the duck or goose liver.
“Force-feeding is a brutal practice that causes suffering to millions of birds, all for an expensive dish served at fancy restaurants,” Pro-Animal D.C.’s website reads.
According to the group, over 50 of D.C.’s restaurants have served foie gras with bird livers fattened by force-feeding over the past year. The dish is popular in French cuisine and is served in many of the district’s most popular French restaurants, including Le Diplomate and La Grande Boucherie.
Animal rights activists have long advocated that the force-feeding practice behind foie gras production is inhumane, as it can enlarge a bird’s liver over six times the normal amount and can lead to other physical harm from the tube in the birds’ throats.
The French dish is banned in California; Brookline, Massachusetts; and Pittsburgh. Though bans were set to take place in New York City and Chicago, they were reversed due to legal challenges.
But restaurateurs and industry leaders have warned about the impacts of taking away the cultural dish. Chef Bart Hutchins at D.C.’s Butterworth’s told Washingtonian that the ballot initiative move is “a ridiculous waste of time.”
“If we can’t appreciate these food ways that have been passed down for generations upon generations, everything’s just going to become a chicken finger,” Hutchins told the outlet.
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As written, the proposed D.C. bill could subject restaurants that serve foie gras to fines of $1,000 to $5,000 per violation. For repeated violations within a one-year period, the proposed legislation calls for either suspending or revoking the business’s license.
Pro-Animal D.C., which needs 25,000 signatures to put its initiative on the ballot, is part of the parent organization Pro-Animal Future, which is also leading similar ballot petitions in Denver and Portland, Oregon. PETA has also supported the move.