- Signatures: 976
- Goal: 500
- Deadline: 6-26-2006
See Full Petition
Email this Petition
Famed talk show host and television producer Oprah Winfrey recently threw a
lavish ball to honor the 25 black women who she admires most, but dishonored
animals by including dishes like veal and foie gras on the menu. Veal and
foie gras represent the extreme end of cruelty in the animal agriculture
industry. We petition you Oprah to refuse to serve foie gras again. We also petition you to and to let the world know how much suffering these defenseless animals endure by addressing this issue on your show.
| Number | Date | Prefix | Name | City | State | Zip/Postal Code | Country | additional comments? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 978 | 7:13 pm PDT, Oct 19 | Mr. | JOSEPH BARNETT | Pensacola | Florida | 32526 | United States | |
| 977 | 8:30 am PDT, Oct 7 | Mr. | TC Kua | Kuala Lumpur | 55100 | Malaysia | Please stop "Foie Gras"! | |
| 976 | 11:24 pm PDT, Sep 30 | Ms. | Jasmine Cripps | Brisbane | 4156 | Australia | Cruelty at it's worst | |
| 975 | 12:28 pm PDT, Sep 27 | Ms. | Katie Theriault | Portland | Maine | 04103 | United States | |
| 974 | 1:36 pm PDT, Sep 22 | Mr. | James Amon | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 19116 | United States | |
| 973 | 11:46 am PDT, Jul 19 | Mrs. | Ramona Isbell | Cropwell | Alabama | 35054 | United States | Why am I not surprised that you serve foie gras? This is animal abuse. I thought you cared about animal rights. What is wrong with you? Your silly, rich parties eating something where a duck or bird has been forced fed and killed so you rich people can indulge. Shameful! |
| 972 | 4:03 am PDT, May 26 | Mr. | stephen stephen | strabane | bt82 | United Kingdom | eat it up it is there to be eat oprah | |
| 971 | 6:14 am PDT, May 7 | Ms. | Elaine Robinson | Wolverhampton | DY6 | United Kingdom | ||
| 970 | 3:15 am PDT, May 7 | Mr. | paul dunne | Strabane | bt82 9sh | United Kingdom | ||
| 969 | 2:57 am PDT, May 7 | Mrs. | Linda Dunne | Derry | bt548fh | Ireland | please Oprah, have a heart. An innocent animal, in this case a goose, should not have to suffer and die so cruelly to titillate the palates of wealthy gourmets - there are delicious and humane vegetarian alternatives. | |
| 968 | 5:48 pm PDT, May 6 | Ms. | Anonymous | Bellingham | Washington | 98226 | United States | Contratulations, Oprah, you are just another annoying celebrity with so much money you feel the need to waste it on supporting violent and cruel acts on defensless animals. I knew you were no different from every other rich snob who delights on other's suffering. Thank you for proving me correct! |
| 967 | 8:28 pm PST, Feb 9 | Ms. | amelia jensen | san mateo | California | 94403 | United States | |
| 966 | 10:38 am PST, Feb 2 | Ms. | Anna Cuscullola | Torą | 25750 | Spain | ||
| 965 | 11:43 pm PST, Jan 14 | Ms. | Gili Kahana | Tel Aviv | 11 | Israel | ||
| 964 | 9:30 am PST, Jan 12 | Ms. | Connor Williams | Grand Rapids | Michigan | 49503 | United States | |
| 963 | 9:41 am PST, Jan 7 | Mrs. | Barbara Bates | Shildon | DL4 2EH | United Kingdom | Surely this is the ultimate cruelty, how can anyone even consider eating this | |
| 962 | 6:02 pm PST, Jan 6 | Rafael Apollo Lido | Saint Cloud | Minnesota | 56303 | United States | ||
| 961 | 5:28 pm PST, Jan 6 | Ms. | Lee Baron | Clifton | New Jersey | 07013 | United States | |
| 960 | 2:43 pm PST, Jan 6 | Anne Thompson | Lancashire. England | WN2 2HP | United Kingdom | |||
| 959 | 1:08 pm PST, Jan 6 | cathy Graupera Carlier | Barcelona | 08041 | Spain | |||
| 958 | 12:04 am PST, Jan 6 | Ms. | wendy shaw | Sydney | 2100 | Australia | Oprah out of all the people I thought you would have compassion for animals you can't just love a particular breed of dog for instance and damn everything else my girlfriend and I are Vegan and love all animals Veal=baby calf ripped away from her screaming mother and murdered Foie Gras=Fatty Liver it's one of the most sickening examples of cruelty promoted as "Luxury". If I had half the money of Oprah Winfrey I would be promoting Veganism she could honestly change the world and by choosing not too I have no respect for her on any level. If you love animals "YOU LOVE ANIMALS" If you arn't part of the solution you are part of the problem. | |
| 957 | 2:44 pm PST, Jan 5 | Mrs. | Ingrid Peeters | Torremolinos | 29620 | Spain | ||
| 956 | 2:47 am PST, Jan 5 | LORENZA MONTI | MONGHIDORO - BOLOGNA | 40063 | Italy | |||
| 955 | 2:30 am PST, Jan 5 | Mrs. | audrey garcia | barcelona | 08004 | Spain | ||
| 954 | 2:06 am PST, Jan 5 | Mrs. | Filomena Pereira | Melksham-wiltshire | SN12 6LE | United Kingdom | ||
| 953 | 1:26 am PST, Jan 5 | ESTHER BLESA | BARCELONA | 08029 | Spain | |||
| 952 | 10:57 pm PST, Jan 4 | Anonymous | Palmerston North | 4410 | New Zealand | |||
| 951 | 10:56 pm PST, Jan 4 | Ms. | helen alexander | London | n20 8hu | United Kingdom |
Oprah, please refuse to serve foie gras!
Famed talk show host and television producer Oprah Winfrey recently threw a lavish ball to honor the 25 black women who she admires most, but dishonored animals by including dishes like veal and foie gras on the menu. Veal and foie gras represent the extreme end of cruelty in the animal agriculture industry.
We want to commend you for honoring many of the great black women of our
time
at your recent Legends Ball in Santa Barbara. These women all deserve
recognition for their valuable contributions to the world. However, it
upset us to learn that veal and foie gras were served at the dinner.
Veal and foie gras represent the extreme end of cruelty in the animal
agriculture industry. Veal is made from baby male calves who are taken
from
their mothers at one day old, then forced to live in tiny crates that keep
them immobile for 12 to 15 weeks just so their flesh will be tender at
slaughter. Foie gras is made from the enlarged livers of ducks and geese
who
have so much corn mush mechanically forced down their throats that many
die
from ruptured stomachs and punctured windpipes. A recent law will make the
production and sale of foie gras illegal in California by 2012, and
compassionate legislators in Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon and New York
have introduced bills to ban it in their states. We understand that your intention was to honor your distinguished guests by
serving them something special, but there can be no justification for the
amount of suffering forced on calves, ducks and geese for veal and foie
gras.
Foie gras, considered by some to be a delicacy, is produced by forcing
a long metal pipe down the throats of ducks and geese and force-feeding
them massive amounts of grain, resulting in their livers swelling to up
to 10 times their normal size. According to ABC7 news in San Francisco,
"At least three times a day, a worker grabs each duck, shoves a long,
thick metal tube down [his] throat and an air pump shoots up to a pound
of corn into the duck."
A duck's liver naturally weighs around 50 grams. However, to qualify as foie gras, international regulations require ducks' livers to weigh an absolute minimum of 300 grams.
To enlarge the ducks' livers to this extent, enormous quantities of
grain are forced down these birds' throats. On average, they are
force-fed 20-30% of their body weight each day. In human terms, this
would mean that a 150-pound person would be forced to consume 30-45
pounds of food per day! If this were being done to dogs or cats, let
alone to humans, it would be considered torture.
The vast amounts of feed pumped down the ducks' throats causes enormous
internal pressure, and the pipe sometimes punctures the esophagus,
causing many to die from choking on the blood that fills their lungs.
Some birds literally burst, choke to death on their own vomit, or
become so weak that they are unable to fend off rats from eating them
alive. Other ducks die a slow, painful, and premature death by
suffocation from inhalation of regurgitated feed. In fact, because of
the massive toll taken on the birds during the force-feeding process,
the average pre-slaughter mortality rate is up to twenty times higher
than on other duck factory farms.
In addition to enduring force-feeding, the birds also suffer the same
neglectful and abusive treatment of other factory-farmed animals:
overcrowding, mutilations (their beaks are cut off), all their natural
instincts and desires-such as interacting in social groups, mating
freely, keeping themselves clean, nurturing their young, exploring
their surroundings-thwarted, and eventually being sent to slaughter.
Throughout the weeks of force-feeding, the birds are kept in either a
group pen or an individual cage with only wire or plastic-mesh floors
to stand and sleep on. Unable to feel the sun on their backs or ground
beneath their feet, the ducks are held in cages so small that they
cannot fully stand or stretch their wings.
We petition you Oprah to refuse to serve foie gras again. We also petition you to and to let the world know how much suffering these defenseless animals endure by addressing this issue on your show.
We want to commend you for honoring many of the great black women of our
time
at your recent Legends Ball in Santa Barbara. These women all deserve
recognition for their valuable contributions to the world. However, it
upset us to learn that veal and foie gras were served at the dinner.
Veal and foie gras represent the extreme end of cruelty in the animal
agriculture industry. Veal is made from baby male calves who are taken
from
their mothers at one day old, then forced to live in tiny crates that keep
them immobile for 12 to 15 weeks just so their flesh will be tender at
slaughter. Foie gras is made from the enlarged livers of ducks and geese
who
have so much corn mush mechanically forced down their throats that many
die
from ruptured stomachs and punctured windpipes. A recent law will make the
production and sale of foie gras illegal in California by 2012, and
compassionate legislators in Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon and New York
have introduced bills to ban it in their states. We understand that your intention was to honor your distinguished guests by
serving them something special, but there can be no justification for the
amount of suffering forced on calves, ducks and geese for veal and foie
gras.
Foie gras, considered by some to be a delicacy, is produced by forcing
a long metal pipe down the throats of ducks and geese and force-feeding
them massive amounts of grain, resulting in their livers swelling to up
to 10 times their normal size. According to ABC7 news in San Francisco,
"At least three times a day, a worker grabs each duck, shoves a long,
thick metal tube down [his] throat and an air pump shoots up to a pound
of corn into the duck."
A duck's liver naturally weighs around 50 grams. However, to qualify as foie gras, international regulations require ducks' livers to weigh an absolute minimum of 300 grams.
To enlarge the ducks' livers to this extent, enormous quantities of
grain are forced down these birds' throats. On average, they are
force-fed 20-30% of their body weight each day. In human terms, this
would mean that a 150-pound person would be forced to consume 30-45
pounds of food per day! If this were being done to dogs or cats, let
alone to humans, it would be considered torture.
The vast amounts of feed pumped down the ducks' throats causes enormous
internal pressure, and the pipe sometimes punctures the esophagus,
causing many to die from choking on the blood that fills their lungs.
Some birds literally burst, choke to death on their own vomit, or
become so weak that they are unable to fend off rats from eating them
alive. Other ducks die a slow, painful, and premature death by
suffocation from inhalation of regurgitated feed. In fact, because of
the massive toll taken on the birds during the force-feeding process,
the average pre-slaughter mortality rate is up to twenty times higher
than on other duck factory farms.
In addition to enduring force-feeding, the birds also suffer the same
neglectful and abusive treatment of other factory-farmed animals:
overcrowding, mutilations (their beaks are cut off), all their natural
instincts and desires-such as interacting in social groups, mating
freely, keeping themselves clean, nurturing their young, exploring
their surroundings-thwarted, and eventually being sent to slaughter.
Throughout the weeks of force-feeding, the birds are kept in either a
group pen or an individual cage with only wire or plastic-mesh floors
to stand and sleep on. Unable to feel the sun on their backs or ground
beneath their feet, the ducks are held in cages so small that they
cannot fully stand or stretch their wings.
We petition you Oprah to refuse to serve foie gras again. We also petition you to and to let the world know how much suffering these defenseless animals endure by addressing this issue on your show.
Note: This Oprah, please refuse to serve foie gras! petition was submitted by Carolyn Mullin. ThePetitionSite.com is a free service provided to help concerned citizens rally support for issues they believe in. The opinions expressed by this petition do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of ThePetitionSite.com or Care2.com. There is no express or implied endorsement of this petition nor any newsletter offers (except those from Care2.com) by Care2.com, Inc, ThePetitionSite.com, or our sponsors. If you believe this system is being abused, please contact customer support.
Questions about this petition? Contact the petition sponsor: Carolyn Mullin.
Questions about thePetitionSite.com? Visit our FAQ Page.
