Foie Gras

The World is Saying, "No More"

Matisse Duck at Farm Sanctuary's New York shelter

Foie gras, or fatty liver, is a product of extreme animal cruelty. It’s made by force-feeding ducks or geese enormous amounts of food until their livers grow ten times the normal size and become diseased.

More than a dozen countries have banned the force-feeding of birds for foie gras because of humane concerns, including the U.K., Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, and Turkey, while the state of California and New York City have outlawed the sale of this cruel product.

Foie gras ban makes progress in Rhode Island

Legislation to outlaw the cruel production and sale of foie gras passed Rhode Island’s House Judiciary committee on April 13, 2022. The full House will vote next, before this important measure goes to the state Senate for consideration.

Foie gras is a product of extreme animal cruelty.

Foie gras is produced by force-feeding ducks or geese enormous amounts of food—up to one-third of their own body weight daily—using a pipe thrust down the birds’ throats.

After 2 to 4 weeks of force-feeding, the birds’ livers expand up to 10 times their normal size. In this diseased state, known as “hepatic lipidosis,” the liver cannot function normally, causing toxins to build up in the birds’ bodies. Those toxins would kill the birds if they weren’t slaughtered first. The birds have difficulty standing, walking, and even breathing as their enlarged livers push against and displace other internal organs.

Illness is the intention––and accidents and death are common.

According to one former employee of a foie gras facility, “The best way to maximize profits is to get the biggest—and hence, the most diseased—liver. As my supervisor stated, ‘The point of gavage [forced tube-feeding] is to make a duck as sick as possible, to bring them to the brink of death.’”

For ducks raised on foie gras farms, the pre-slaughter mortality rate is up to 20 times greater than that on farms where ducks are raised for meat. Many birds asphyxiate from food being forced into the trachea or end up with puncture wounds from the feeding tube, which can become infected.

The force-feeding process can be fatal if continued beyond just a few weeks.

"The cruelest form of food animal production."

“Having studied the process of force-feeding ducks over a 14-year period, including witnessing two New York producers, I can state that this process is easily the cruelest form of food animal production.

“In no other food-producing system do we intentionally create a painful and fatal illness (liver failure) in thousands of suffering animals, whose husbandry includes the infection by pneumonia, liver engorgement to 10-times normal size, inability to walk due to their swollen abdomen, brain damage from liver failure (some birds show seizures while being force-fed), in addition to the pain of limb fractures and ruptured esophagi from rough handling. There is no need to create and then consume a diseased organ from a suffering duck.”

– Dr. Holly Cheever, DVM

Foie gras is a product of extreme animal cruelty.

Foie gras is produced by force-feeding ducks or geese enormous amounts of food—up to one-third of their own body weight daily—using a pipe thrust down the birds’ throats.

After 2 to 4 weeks of force-feeding, the birds’ livers expand up to 10 times their normal size. In this diseased state, known as “hepatic lipidosis,” the liver cannot function normally, causing toxins to build up in the birds’ bodies. Those toxins would kill the birds if they weren’t slaughtered first. The birds have difficulty standing, walking, and even breathing as their enlarged livers push against and displace other internal organs.

Illness is the intention––and accidents and death are common.

According to one former employee of a foie gras facility, “The best way to maximize profits is to get the biggest—and hence, the most diseased—liver. As my supervisor stated, ‘The point of gavage [forced tube-feeding] is to make a duck as sick as possible, to bring them to the brink of death.’”

For ducks raised on foie gras farms, the pre-slaughter mortality rate is up to 20 times greater than that on farms where ducks are raised for meat. Many birds asphyxiate from food being forced into the trachea or end up with puncture wounds from the feeding tube, which can become infected.

The force-feeding process can be fatal if continued beyond just a few weeks.

"The cruelest form of food animal production."

“Having studied the process of force-feeding ducks over a 14-year period, including witnessing two New York producers, I can state that this process is easily the cruelest form of food animal production.

“In no other food-producing system do we intentionally create a painful and fatal illness (liver failure) in thousands of suffering animals, whose husbandry includes the infection by pneumonia, liver engorgement to 10-times normal size, inability to walk due to their swollen abdomen, brain damage from liver failure (some birds show seizures while being force-fed), in addition to the pain of limb fractures and ruptured esophagi from rough handling. There is no need to create and then consume a diseased organ from a suffering duck.”

– Dr. Holly Cheever, DVM

"The force-feeding of ducks and geese for the production of foie gras is a cruel and inhumane practice that should be banned."

— Dr. Ian J.H. Duncan, Emeritus Chair in Animal Welfare, University of Guelph

In the news: The Fight to End Foie Gras

Is foie gras inhumane? This bill before the RI General Assembly says yes

“Animal rights advocates say production of foie gras is inhumane. Duck farmers say they use accepted agricultural practices. Chefs wonder, if you start banning one food, what’s next on the chopping block? Will Rhode Island diners care? A bill before the General Assembly proposes to ban the import and sale of foie gras in the state. There’s no lack of opinions on the subject.” – The Providence Journal

Rhode Island Considers Legislation to Ban Sale of Foie Gras

“Rhode Island legislators have introduced legislation that would prohibit the sale of foie gras in Rhode Island—after bans have gone into effect in California and New York City.” – Go Local Prov News

You Can Help Ban Foie Gras in NYC

“The New York City Council votes on a package of animal protection measures, including a historic prohibition on the sale of foie gras. This is a critically important opportunity. In a city full of foodies and Michelin-starred restaurants, a ban on selling foie gras will go a long way towards stopping this cruel and inhumane industry.” – Farm Sanctuary

The silence of the force-fed ducks: Ban foie gras in New York City

“A very important bill is in front of the City Council: to ban the sale in New York City of poultry products that are the result of force-feeding, punishing violators with a fine of up to $1,000. It must pass, to make a powerful statement against animal cruelty.” – NY Daily News

The Fight to Ban Foie Gras in NYC

“On Tuesday, Farm Sanctuary President and Co-founder Gene Baur joined over a hundred animal activists for a nearly-day-long New York City Council hearing over Intro 1378, legislation that would prohibit the sale of foie gras in NYC.” – Farm Sanctuary

California's Foie Gras Ban (Finally) Goes Into Full Effect

“There was great celebration at Farm Sanctuary this week as the United States Supreme Court denied a challenge by the foie gras industry and enabled California’s foie gras ban to go back into effect. Farm Sanctuary has been a pivotal leader in this campaign for decades, sponsoring California’s landmark 2004 legislation to ban foie gras in the state, while also rescuing birds from this horrific industry. But it’s been a long, hard-won fight.” – Farm Sanctuary

Farm Sanctuary Defends California’s Right to Ban the Production and Sale of Cruelly Produced Foie Gras

“On Jan. 7th, a federal district court judge invalidated California’s ban on the sale of foie gras—a ban that Farm Sanctuary and our supporters actively worked to get passed in 2004. The judge erroneously ruled that an unrelated federal law, the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), preempts the California foie gras ban.” – Farm Sanctuary

Op-Ed: Foie gras is a product of cruelty

“In early January, a federal judge overturned a decade-old California law that took effect in July 2012. The law banned the sale of foie gras, a French ‘delicacy’ that is almost always the result of grossly inhumane treatment of ducks or geese.” – Los Angeles Times