Foie Gras: The CRUELEST Food On Earth? Why Force-Feeding Must End

Sign our petition to help ban foie gras in the U.S.:animalequality.org/action/foie-gras

One of the most controversial practices in the animal agriculture industry is the force-feeding of ducks and geese to produce foie gras – a luxury food product served at some upscale dining establishments. “Foie gras” is French for “fatty liver” – and that’s exactly what it is: a fatty spread made from the diseased livers of violently force-fed ducks and geese. The practice of force-feeding to induce fatty liver disease is widely considered unacceptable, even among meat-eaters, yet it is perfectly legal in 49 out of 50 U.S. states. It’s time to end this practice by banning the production and sale of force-fed foie gras across the country.

Foie gras is considered a “delicacy,” yet its production is anything but delicate. Workers at foie gras operations thrust a 10- to 12-inch metal or plastic tube down each bird’s throat to rapidly deliver huge amounts of concentrated grain, fat, and compressed air into the bird’s stomach via a pneumatic or hydraulic pump. This process is repeated up to three times a day for several weeks, until the bird’s liver becomes diseased – often growing up to 10 times its normal size. This force-feeding process causes birds extreme pain and suffering, which continues for weeks on end until they are killed around 15 weeks of age.

Force-fed ducks and geese have a mortality rate that is up to twenty times higher than non-force-fed birds. This is because force-feeding can have serious health consequences for the birds, including physical damage to the esophagus, difficulty breathing, mobility problems, aspiration, liver hemorrhage, and even cardiac or renal failure. These outcomes go against every principle of “humane” animal treatment.

Foie gras production poses a significant risk to public health as well. Because of the constant abuse they endure, ducks and geese on foie gras factory farms have weakened immune systems, making them especially susceptible to avian influenza (bird flu) infections. This is alarming in part because bird flu can spread to humans. In 2021 alone, France registered 475 outbreaks of avian influenza at poultry farms, the vast majority of these being foie gras operations. And as we saw with the Covid-19 virus, such zoonotic disease outbreaks can quickly spread into a global pandemic.

Force-fed ducks and geese frequently experience traumatic injuries to their throats, debilitating infections, internal organ ruptures, and bleeding in their livers. Because their abdomens become so large and distended, birds suffer from breathing problems and difficulties standing or walking. Some of them even die of dehydration because they can’t get to water.

There is nothing humane about force-feeding, and New York City and the state of California have already banned the sale of resulting products. Now, we need the rest of the US to leave this cruel and unnecessary practice behind.

Sign our petition to help ban foie gras in the U.S.:animalequality.org/action/foie-gras

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See Animal Equality’s other videos on Foie Gras:
🛑 What is Foie Gras? www.youtube.com/watch?v=idfE2iCNHjA
🛑 French Foie Gras Cruelty – Animal Equality Undercover Investigation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzwV2ZwV1g4
🛑 Shocking cruelty exposed at Caracierzos foie gras farm: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNyTRLSE-YA
🛑 Inside a Foie Gras Farm: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8udctdnINM

#foiegras #forcefeeding #banfoiegras