Foie gras, or fattened liver, is made by force feeding ducks until their livers are 12-14 times their normal size.
The Animal Protection and Rescue League was instrumental in shutting down California's only foie gras producer and banning the sale of this cruel product in the state no matter where it is produced. Our undercover investigations have been featured in the New York Times.
Browse the links above for useful information on opposing and exposing this cruel dish.
Foie gras - French for "fatty liver" - is the diseased and enlarged liver of a duck or goose, produced through force feeding.
California banned the “force feed[ing of] a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird's liver beyond normal size."
Claims made by Hudson Valley Foie Gras to constitute false advertising. The few other farms that produce foie gras are no better.
Foie gras - French for "fatty liver" - is the diseased and enlarged liver of a duck or goose, produced through force feeding. A duck's liver naturally weighs around 50 grams. However, to qualify as foie gras, the industry's own regulations require ducks' livers to weigh an absolute minimum of 300 grams.
According to the ASPCA, "The birds' livers become so enlarged…that according to documentation by veterinarians, the animals must experience unspeakable pain and suffering. Birds have literally exploded from these forced feedings. The results of necropsies on dead birds that have been force-fed reveal ruptured livers, throat damage, esophageal trauma, and food spilling from the dead animals' throats and out of their nostrils."
The Animal Protection & Rescue League has investigated all three US foie gras farms and several in France and found rampant cruelty to be the norm.
Compassion Over Killing sent an investigator to the largest US farm, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, on a guided tour with a hidden camera and also witnessed the standard cruelty that is required for foie gras production.
