What is Foie Gras?

Foie gras (translated literally from French as "fatty liver" and pronounced 'fwah grah') is produced by cruel and inhumane farming practices. In modern foie gras production, force feeding takes place from 12−18 days before slaughter. The duck or goose is typically fed large quantities of corn mash through a tube placed in the animal's throat to cause the birds to become grossly overweight and their livers expand up to 10 times their normal size.

As a result, ducks raised for foie gras have difficulty standing, walking, and even breathing. Many of them die before the end of the force-feeding cycle, and the mortality rate for ducks raised on foie gras farms is among the highest in the farming industry. Necropsies performed on foie gras ducks have shown extreme obesity, impaction of undigested food in the esophagus, lacerations in the throat, and a proliferation of bacterial and fungal growth in their upper digestive tracts.

Due to this force feeding procedure, and the possible health consequences of an enlarged liver, foie gras production methods are regarded as cruel to animals. Foie gras producers maintain that force feeding ducks and geese is not uncomfortable for the animals nor is it hazardous to their health.

A number of countries and other jurisdictions have laws against force feeding or the sale of foie gras due to how it is produced.

Compassionate consumers can help end their cruel practice by complaining to the management of restaurants offering this food item on their menu.

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