Fuck the (Food) Police

I used to think that Evanston, IL had the most ridiculous laws in the country (no tree-climbing, no trick-or-treating). Massachusetts surprised me when I first moved here - you can't buy alcohol on Sundays. That's changed in the three years that i've been here (and no, not because of me). However, the city of Chicago has recently outlawed foie gras.

I don't even like foie gras, but what the fuck? Did I miss something? Since when have city aldermen given two cents about people's eating preferences? When did education, health care, and crime prevention give way to regulations about a "delicacy" that maybe a thousand people eat in a year? First of all, McDonalds has basically taken over the planet, with BK and Wendy's providing the necessary competition. Not exactly health food, but cities seem to have no problem with sticking McD next to gyms, in airports, and (my favorite) in hospitals. You want a healthy city? Get rid of the fast food, and people will be forced to find alternatives, and if those alternatives are healthy and cheap (that's also the responsibility of the city and of entrepreneurs, but it can happen) then good things might arise. That won't ever happen, but it's nice to dream.

Second of all, the biggest argument is that foie gras is made from geese that have been force-fed to fatten their livers. So fucking what? Honestly, when was the last time you heard of Kobe beef being outlawed? Isn't it 'criminal' to keep dogs in tiny NYC apartments? The slaughterhouses that make the chicken and beef products aren't exactly places kids go to on field trips. The geese are going to be killed anyway, so why not let them die fat? And speaking of fat, is it now the responsibility of city councilpeople to regulate trans fats (foie gras has lots)? I've never seen the Chicago city council, but I bet that most of 'em are fat white men who couldn't run six blocks if their lives depended on it. Buncha' hypocrites. Yes, i'd like to see more regulations on how food is prepared and information disseminated to the public, but that should come from the FDA and be nationwide and people should have the right to choose to eat healthy. Now, if it were illegal to force-feed the geese this way (which admittedly sounds disgusting), then fine... but ban the practice nationwide and make these rich people get their foie gras from skinny geese. I don't want to have to drive to Winnetka for some goose liver simply because it's illegal on Michigan Avenue. Again, i'm not a fan of foie gras (nor do I live in Chicago), i'm just making a point.

Finally, don't these people have anything better to do? What's next, a ban on sushi because the fish isn't cooked properly? A ban on iPods that have Yanni? How 'bout focusing some attention on the crime around Hyde Park, where UC students feel unsafe at night? How 'bout enforcing some limits on water pollution? Finally, how 'bout some oversight of how the time and money of the city council is spent? Grr.