José Andrés joins fight against proposed DC foie gras ban

World renowned chef José Andrés is entering the battle over Washington’s proposed ban on foie gras, a delicacy which animal rights activists have called cruel.

Andrés responded to a proponent of the ban, labeled as Initiative 86 on D.C.’s ballot, in a post to the social platform X — appearing to argue serving the French specialty made with fattened duck liver is no different ethically than making other meat-based dishes.

“ L et’s ban beef and pork and chicken … and also vegetables too because is [sic] a study that says that maybe indications of suffering,” Andrés wrote. “We have children hungry in USA and the World … lets end hunger and then we talk.”

Foie gras is a delicacy made from duck liver which is enlarged via force feeding before slaughter. Washington animal rights activists are pushing for the ban over concerns about cruelty, putting them at odds with the city’s restaurant industry.

Andrés owns restaurants all over the world a nd has long been an advocate for addressing world hunger. He founded the World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit which aims to provide meals to those impacted by natural disasters.

But Andrés is not the only restaurant owner pledging to fight the ban. Bart Hutchins, owner of Butterworth’s in D.C., authored an op-ed in The Washington Post defending the use of foie gras and the practice by which it is made.

“Ducks are not humans,” Bart wrote. “This overfeeding is something the bird does naturally. Before their annual migration, ducks gorge — they stuff themselves with excess food … What foie gras farming does is amplify a natural biological process rather than invent a cruel one.”

Hutchins announced on X that Butterworth’s will be having a “Foie Gras at the End of the World” event with a four-course tasting menu, available every day Oct. 27 through Election Day.

The Butterworth’s owner told Axios D.C. he would continue to serve foie gras even if it is banned, and if the ballot initiative passes, he would rather move his restaurant to Virginia than stop offering the delicacy to its patrons.