Foie gras

Foie gras (French for "fat liver") is the liver of a duck or goose that has been overfed. Along with truffles, foie gras is considered one of the greatest delicacies in the world of French cuisine. It is very rich and buttery, with a delicate flavor unlike regular duck or goose liver.

Controversy

A lot of people contend the method of feeding the geese and ducks to be forced and cruel. They use the term gavage, a french term for stuffed feeding (and a medical term for feeding those who can't feed themselves). After political pressure from organizations lobbying for animal rights, certain jurisdictions have banned gavage.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The crux of the cruelty issue lies in two distinct questions. First, does foie gras production cause the animals to feel pain and suffering? Secondly, for an animal destined for the dinner table, is this suffering unacceptably cruel?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most foie gras producers do not consider their methods cruel, insisting that it is a natural process exploiting the animals' natural features. Producers argue that wild ducks and geese naturally ingest large amounts of whole food and gain weight before migration. Foie gras producers also contend that geese and ducks do not have a gag reflex, and therefore do not find force feeding uncomfortable. Michael Ginor, owner of Hudson Valley Foie Gras and author of Foie Gras... A Passion, claims his birds come to him and says this is important because "a stressed or hurt bird won't eat and digest well or produce a foie gras."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Late in 2003, a French coalition of animal rights groups published the Proclamation for the Abolition of the Gavage, claiming that the practice of forced feeding is already illegal based on existing animal protection laws in France and the European Union. However, these laws leave much for interpretation. The Council of the European Union issued Council Directive 98/58/EC on 20 July 1998 concerning the protection of farm animals. It stipulates that animal "owners or keepers take all reasonable steps to ensure the welfare of animals under their care and to ensure that those animals are not caused any unnecessary pain, suffering or injury."

Related Topics:
European Union - Council of the European Union - 20 July - 1998

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Report of the EU Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare on Welfare Aspects of the Production of Foie Gras in Ducks and Geese, Adopted 16 December 1998 is an 89-page review of studies from several producing countries. It notes that animal death rates increase by a factor of ten to twenty during the two-week forced feeding period. Also, while the consequences of force feeding in birds are reversible, the "level of steatosis should be considered pathological."

Related Topics:
16 December - 1998 - Steatosis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some of the physiological claims by producers are contradicted by the EU report. In response to the gag reflex claim, the report states, "The oropharyngeal area is particularly sensitive and is physiologically adapted to perform a gag reflex in order to prevent fluids entering the trachea. Force feeding will have to overcome this reflex and hence the birds may initially find this distressing and injury may result."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Industry groups including CIFOG, and researchers at INRA affirm that forced feeding is not a cruel procedure and even that animals appreciate this treatment. The EU committee carried out several tests designed to detect pain or distressed by looking at blood hormones and all of them were inconclusive or without any measurable difference to similarly raised animals. The committee did not observe any signs that animals appreciated being force fed, and observed that ducks attempted to move away when their feeder entered the room. However, veterinarians who serve at foie gras farms have observed this behavior.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The EU report notes that continued force feeding leads to early death of the animal. It also recognizes that producers do not put their birds livers into a pathological state. The timing of liver fattening is carefully controlled so the animal is slaughtered before it becomes a health hazard. An animal that stops the forced feeding process returns to its normal weight. Producers, and the EU report, also the answer the criticism of increased mortality by noting that the overall mortality rate of ducks and geese in foie gras production is much less than that of farm raised chickens and turkeys.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some EU foie gras producers seek protection under a "cultural exception" clause similar to the protection of bullfighting in the south.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Foie gras is illegal in several locations, and legislation is pending in others. In August, 2003, the Supreme Court of Israel declared foie gras production to be animal cruelty, and made production illegal beginning in March, 2005. On September 29, 2004, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law that will ban the production or sale of foie gras from force fed birds in the state by 2012. The law would allow foie gras produced by methods that are not considered animal cruelty. Similar legislation is pending in New York. California and New York are currently the only US states with foie gras industries.

Related Topics:
2003 - Supreme Court of Israel - 2005 - September 29 - 2004 - California - Governor - Arnold Schwarzenegger - 2012 - New York

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Force feeding is prohibited in:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Argentina
• Austria (six of nine provinces)
• the Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Finland
• Germany
• Ireland
• Israel (2005)
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• Norway
• Poland (1999 - was the fifth largest world producer)
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• The Netherlands
• The United Kingdom
• US state of California's ban comes into effect in 2012