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Hot's Restaurant Group has banded together with Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Association des Éleveurs de Canards et d'Oies du Québec, the nonprofit group in Canada that represents farmers and distributors to file suit agains the State of California for the unconstitutionality of the foie gras ban that went into effect on July 1. Let freedom reign indeed.
The lawsuit, which was brought to the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday, argues that it's unclear what constitutes force feeding under the law. Says the suit:
"The statute defines 'force feeding' as using a process that causes a bird 'to consume more food than a typical bird of the same species would consume voluntarily. In practice, the vagueness of this purported standard makes it impossible for anyone to know at what point a particular bird has been fed 'more food' than the Bird Feeding Law allows."
The suit also hopes that the ban will be temporarily lifted while it is being debated.
"Michael Tenenbaum, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he plans to ask the court for a preliminary injunction, which would freeze the law until it can be hashed out in court. He said the request would be made soon, but gave no further details," says the SF Chronicle.
Does this mean more indulgent foie gras dinners (and the protests that come along with them) are in our future?
