Statement from Professor Martha C. Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago:

I would like to express my support for Chicago's recent enactment of the ordinance to prohibit sale of foie gras within the city and my opposition to any attempt to repeal this law. Foie gras cannot be produced without torturously force-feeding birds and, thus, is by necessity the product of extreme animal cruelty. At the same time, the so-called "delicacy" is completely unnecessary for human health or well-being. By prohibiting its sale, Chicago has taken a sensible and practical step towards ending the support of, and motivation for, such cruelty by eliminating the market for the product within the city. This is the type of regulation that Chicago and other cities are accustomed to enacting in reference to a wide variety of issues that impact the public good, including animal cruelty. It is comparable to bans on the sale of products produced from endangered species and the sale of dog or cat pelts, and is consistent with this city's civility and ethics. Indeed, the elimination of support for practices that are cruel to animals has long been accepted as a mainstream value of civilized societies, which recognize not only the virtue of compassion towards animals, but a duty to refrain from, inhibit, and punish acts that cause unnecessary suffering. By passing this ordinance, Chicago gains status and respect in the world community, and is known as a city that affirms the highest ethical values.