Foie Gras: Is the production worth the pâté?

For my blog's debut, I wanted to breach a (relatively) light topic.

Do you know what Foie Gras is? I have only recently learned the answer myself. Foie Gras is essentially fatty liver, served as a delicacy, that comes from ducks and geese. The process of obtaining this fatty liver, however, is far from pretty. Foie Gras is the result of the birds being force-fed a grotesque amount of food in appalling conditions.

During the first days of their lives, the birds are fed a diet that is "a high-protein, high-starch diet...designed to promote rapid growth" (1). These birds are generally force-fed up to 4 pounds of food per day, resulting in an engorged liver that can be up to 10x its normal size. The result of having an enlarged liver is an inability to walk or breathe normally, as well as a constant ill feeling. The mortality rates of these birds are significantly higher than birds raised in normal conditions, and the carcasses of these birds have shown "wing fractures and severe tissue damage to the throat muscles" (1) as well as food that has filled up the throat and come out of the nostrils (3). Other consequences of the force-feeding and living conditions include: frightened, battered birds often too sick to walk, birds that often tear out their own feathers and even cannibalize each other, stomachs that burst from overfeeding, foot infections, kidney necrosis, spleen and kidney damage, bruised and broken bills, and tumor-like lumps in their throats (2). In a nut shell, Foie Gras is liver disease (known as hepatic lipidosis(3)), and it is very unhealthy for humans.


This photo shows the comparison between a normal liver, and a liver that has suffered from Foie Gras production.


It is true that migratory birds naturally gorge themselves before they migrate, but the amount of food consumed is nothing compared to the amount of food forced down their throats for Foie Gras production.

A PETA investigation at Hudson Valley Foie Gras (then known as Commonwealth Enterprises), a production facility in New York, revealed that workers were expected to force-feed 500 birds three times a day. A worker told one of PETA's investigators that he could feel tumor-like lumps, caused by force-feeding, in some ducks' throats. One duck had a maggot-covered neck wound that was so severe that water spilled out of it when he drank. Workers routinely carried ducks by their necks, causing them to choke and defecate in distress. (1)

The following is a video narrated by Kate Winslet encouraging the discontinuation of Foie Gras demand and production:
http://www.peta.org/FeatureKateWinsletExposesFoieGrasCruelty.asp

Legislation banning Foie Gras production has been passed in many places. In 2003, Israel banned the production of Foie Gras due to the nature of said production. Multiple European countries have banned the production of Foie Gras, and in 2004 Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill outlawing Foie Gras production in California that will be effective in 2012.

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The production of Foie Gras, and the force-feeding of ducks and geese, is a relatively old practice, dating back to the Ancient Egyptians (4). Times have changed, however, and a practice that was originally carried out in a time that lacked global exchange and a place that had minimal resources is no longer appropriate in modern day society. The only reason these birds are being abused is to meet the demand for Foie Gras. Without the demand, there is absolutely no reason to stuff these birds until they get sick and literally explode. With an increase in legislation against the production of Foie Gras, it appears that the movement has strong momentum going forward that will only be furthered through increased help and support.

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There are a number of things you can do to help out.
The simplest things you could do include:
- no longer eating foie gras
- educating others about the production of foie gras

Other activities that take an extra degree of passion include:
- writing to/speaking with the managers of restaurants in your area that serve foie gras
- writing to city/state legislatures, encouraging them to ban the production/sale of foie gras

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Informative Pamphlet offered for free on the PETA website:

http://www.petaliterature.com/VEG232.pdf



Video Footage:
http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=foie_gras_USA
http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=viva_ducks

Photos of Foie Gras production (graphic):
http://stopforcefeeding.com/page.php?module=photos&article_id=33


Links for Further Information:
http://www.goveg.com/ui_ducksandgeese.asp
http://www.hsus.org/farm/camp/ffa/ny_illegal_foie_gras.html
http://www.hsus.org/farm/resources/research/welfare/the_foie_gras_industry.html
http://www.nofoiegras.org/
http://www.gourmetcruelty.com/

Recipes for "Faux Gras"
http://www.nofoiegras.org/faux_gras.htm

Cited Links:

1. http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=97
2. http://www.avmahurtsanimals.com/foieGras.asp
3. http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/california_bans_foie_gras.html
4. http://www.nofoiegras.org/FGabout.htm