Ethics Newsline®

ANAHEIM, Calif.
Scott Niedermayer, a defenseman for the champion Anaheim Ducks professional hockey team, is coming to the defense of his namesakes, sending a letter to the 50 members of the Chicago City Council that urges them to stand firm in the city’s ban on foie gras.

CBS News SportsLine reports that Niedermayer is joining with an animal-rights group to fight a move to repeal the ban, which was passed in April 2006, making Chicago the first U.S. city to outlaw the substance, which is made from the swollen livers of force-fed ducks or geese.

“As an Anaheim Duck, I hate to see real ducks tortured so that a handful of wealthy chefs can serve their diseased organs,” Niedermayer says in his letter, according to the Toronto Star.

In addition to Chicago, a law banning foie gras has been passed in the state of California, and Pope Benedict XVI has condemned the process. But foie gras consumption worldwide is actually rising because chefs are developing new dishes using the delicacy, according to a report from Bloomberg.

WebMD reports that Chicago also is considering a ban on artery-clogging trans-fats from some public eateries. New York is among the cities that already have passed similar measures.