A gastronomic pate could be banned from council buildings and food outlets in a city.

Green Party councillor Ben Duncan has demanded that the sale of foie gras be outlawed across Brighton and Hove.

Foie gras has been widely condemned as cruel by animal welfare campaigners but producers argue that the ducks and geese do not flee their force-feeders.

It has already been banned by councils in York, Norwich and Bolton and its production outlawed in Poland, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Israel.

Now Coun Duncan has asked Brighton and Hove's policy and resources committee to stop the council serving the pate on its premises, which would cover wedding ceremonies and other functions.

Under the proposals the council would also lobby the Government to impose a national ban and all food outlets will be written to ask them to take it off the menu.

Coun Duncan said: "The production of foie gras - French for fatty liver - is inherently cruel and makes an abomination of animal welfare standards as most people understand them.

"Though it remains lawful, foie gras is produced by force-feeding geese directly into their stomachs using a tube.

"A foie gras bird is typically compelled to eat the equivalent of an adult human consuming 10kg of spaghetti a day.

"After two to three weeks, when they are ready for slaughter, their livers will have swollen to about ten times their normal size.

"The swollen liver expands the abdomen and can make movement and breathing difficult, as well as causing other health problems."

Foie gras is a popular delicacy in French cuisine and its flavour is rich, buttery and delicate.

But many animal welfare groups complain that the production methods are cruel.

Members of Brighton Animal Action Group protested against the sale of foie gras outside the Graze restaurant in Western Road, Brighton, earlier this month. The group targets restaurants in Brighton and Hove which serve foie gras.

Coun Duncan added: "This is nothing short of barbaric - and its sale sends out all the wrong signals of what Brighton and Hove is like in the 21st Century.

"Brighton and Hove has a tremendous reputation for hospitality and this move to limit the sale of foie gras in the city is about maintaining that reputation in the face of increasing public revulsion at the complete disregard of modern animal welfare standards its production entails.

"This isn't just about protecting animal welfare though, it's about keeping Brighton and Hove one step ahead of the game and bringing the city in line with the expectations of the majority of its residents, visitors, and, hopefully, its directly-elected councillors."

Should foie gras be banned? Tell us what you think below.