Chicago, (not) My Kinda Town

Well, I see in the press (AFP) that a certain US city has decided to pass some laws to raise the bar where ethical food is concerned. Foie Gras, a French delicacy made from goose liver, has been banned on the grounds that the production process is inhumane. The decision to ban it means that Chicago has joined a growing number of jurisdictions, some European countries, and California, in prohibiting the stuff, made apparently by forcefeeding geese, then killing them just before their livers burst. I suppose I can see their point.

But where does it end? Pigs, for instance, start life as cute little piglets. As soon as their teeth appear, they are clipped - that's snapped off with some pliers, not filed ot extracted, mind - in a move, we're told, to stop the pig's nipples being bitten by the piglets. Goodness knows how wild pigs, or any other animal with teeth, ever managed to suckle it's young for millions of years. So that's bacon, ham, sausages, hamburgers, franks gone for starters. Ever been in a chicken farm? Baby chicks are sexed by squeezing them so hard the poop comes out of them, to look at their hineys & tell boy from girl. That's eggs and chicken out the window.

The other thing is that Chicago has lots of restaurants, but nowhere that actually makes foie gras. So what effect will the ban have on the geese? Very little, because they all live in Canada, France, or New York. At least the ones that get turned into foie gras do, anyway. That's like saying that banning cars in Central London will stop oil production in the Arab states, or China, or indeed the US.

So why the ban? Well, I think that someone has been elected to the city council, and, drunk with power, has done this to get back at all the restaurants that wouldn't accept his cry of "I'm a Councilman, put it on my tab!" The poor Chicago Public Health Department, tasked with enforcing the ban, have told restaurant owners not to worry, they won't be clamping down too hard on them. Even the Mayor has pleaded with the City to repeal the law, calling it "the silliest law they've ever passed." Good luck to him, I think he's in for a wait. The Commonwealth Of Virginia has, since the 1700's, had a law in place that makes it an offence to tickle women. I'm off to tickle El Jeffe and see if the State does anything about it.

Thought for the day - the law is an ass. Night, all.