Sao Paulo bans foie gras ,angering chefs

SAO PAULO
Sao Paulo has banned production and sale
of foie gras ,and chefs to Brazil's largest
city are fuming

Mayor Fernando Haddad said to like the
delicacy himself signed a decree instituting
the ban,disappointing cooks who had hoped
he would veto the bill passed in May by the
city hall

The dish was banned on grounds of cruelty
to geese that are fattened up to provide
the liver that is the stuff of foie gras,

The law calls for a fine equivalent to as
much as$1,900 for the restaurants that
flout the ban ,which  takes effect in 45days

The law was published Friday  in an official
gazette that records the doings of town hall
,Animal rights activists praised the prohibition,

"This is not an isolated event,There is a
global trend toward greater fairness to
animals,:""Ricardo Laurino of the Brazilian
Society  of Vegetarian told the newspaper
O Globo

But Renato  Carioni ,chef at a restaurant
caled Cosi, called the ban "rediculous
and  hypocritical,

Carioni said he had thought Haddad would
veto the bill because,he said ,Haddad
loves  foie gras,

A month ago the Brazillian Association
of Culinary Professionals stated circulating
a petition to press the mayor to nix
the bill,The text of the petition defended
foie gras as a "cultural tool  of world
gastronomy" AFP