Foie Gras is the diseased liver (fatty liver) of ducks and geese. It is an incredibly cruel practice that is frowned upon in fifteen European Countries. In 2012, California will be the first state in the U.S. to ban the sale of Foie Gras and will make force-feeding illegal. This is a great victory, and now it is time for the rest of the country to follow their example. It is a cruel inhumane practice that should no longer be tolerated. Here in Georgia we want to be the second state to set the standard.
Foie Gras is the result of the cruel process in which a duck or goose is force fed grain at an alarming rate. Birds suffer tremendously during and after the force feeding process. Within a few weeks, their livers have swollen up to ten time their normal size, and the birds can scarcely stand, walk, or even breathe. The extra weight cripples their legs which are no longer capable of supporting them. Foie Gras birds have been known to often suffer from lacerated tracheas, pneumonia, throats and gullets severely impacted with undigested corn, and massive internal bacterial and fungal growth.
In modern Foie Gras factory farms, geese and ducks are raised in enclosed barns and never see daylight. Their cages are so small that they are unable to move around or even lift their wings. They are forced to live their lives on metal grates which are painful for their webbed feet. The Foie Gras industry often tries to justify its practices by saying they are just an extension of the natural, pre-migration gorging behaviors of migratory fowl. This claim is entirely false. Most birds used in Foie Gras production are birds that would not naturally migrate. In birds who are known to migrate, their liver might expand up to twice its size. Never would a bird gorge itself naturally or would they be capable of increasing their liver up to ten times its natural size.
Help us ban Foie Gras in Georgia. Our mission is to make Foie Gras cruelty known to the public and make the production of Foie Gras illegal one state at a time. There is no excuse for any type of animal abuse. We want restaurants to choose a compassionate alternative to this brutal practice. There is absolutely no delicacy in this dish.
Please take a few minutes to watch the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqI-28WuoYQ
Additional Links:
http://stopforcefeeding.com
http://www.nofoiegras.org/FGlaws.htm
