About Foie Gras| About Foie Gras Cruelty |
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Ducks make up 96% of the force-fed animals due to the fact that they are cheaper to keep and feed than geese. Force-feeding results in steatosis of the liver, (hepatic lipidosis) a condition in which large fat globules accumulate in the liver cells to an extent never seen in any normal healthy birds. This condition is considered pathological by most animal welfare experts. Health and welfare problems in force-fed birds include:
Importing it, supplying it, ordering it, buying it and eating it means you are part of the cruelty, pain and suffering! You don´t have to be a bunny-hugging vegetarian to want to outlaw deliberate animal cruelty!It may be tradition, it may be culture, but times have progressed and the undeniable pain and suffering caused by modern farming methods are unacceptable. Foie Gras is one of many unspeakably cruel items we eat, but unlike chicken which is the mainstay for many South African households, Foie Gras is trendy and for those with the funds to spend outrageous amounts on a small plate consisting of 85% fat and 100% suffering. The force-feeding of ducks and geese is recognised as animal cruelty and consequently is prohibited in 14 European countries Foie Gras is not necessary to our survival.There are many luxury and exotic, cruelty free things to eat in the world. How much cruelty can you swallow?LIVE PLUCKING OF GEESE AND EIDER DUCKS FOR DOWN, BEFORE BEING FORCE FED :
Plucking is a traditional activity in Hungary where the geese are plucked 3-4 times a year. Feathers from live animals are considered better quality.
http://www.gak.hu/aw/show.asp?page=content/animal_welfare/liba.asp Fois Gras production is a massive and obviously cruel trade in Hungary, which is quite clearly condemned by the EU public and the Commission as well (Directive 88/306 EC concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes. No Bed of Feathers for a Goose in Hungary: The torture of geese in Poland, Hungary and China: http://www.zoochat.com/25/torture-geese-poland-hungary-china-62984/
An underground investigative team with hidden cameras has researched the goose feather industry.
It seems that a fairly common custom is to pick the feathers out of living geese - not dead and slaughtered geese. The practise is forbidden in the EU, but apparently this law is not enforced in Poland and Hungary, according to the documentary. The footage shown is revolting. The geese scream in their pain. The biggest wounds resulting from the torture are hastily sown together by their torturers - so that the animals will not bleed to death but be ready for another "treatment" later on. The geese have to endure this torture 3-4 times before slaughter, unless they are especially unlucky and after this torture are being sent to one of these farms where they are force-fed to enlarge their liver before death finally releases them from human torture.
A leading Swedish veterinary, commenting on the footage, called the practice "torture" and compared it to ripping out the hair of a human skull. "Double torture"... "...their lives are Hell on earth", was the commentary of the veterinary - Johan Beck-Fries - member of a Swedish governmental commission. The Foie Gras Assembly Line http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IWN8UGDyC0 For scientific evidence of the cruelty inflicted, or for downloadable pamphlets, visit www.nofoiegras.org 96 FAQ'S for the reasons behind animal rights vs animal welfare can be found here www.animal-rights.net/ar-faq Foie Gras production in Belgium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C0QgfJ484I A local article on women24.com on Foie Gras
Letter from a South African Vet now living abroad
According to Dr Andre Menache, who was one of Israeli ‘Noah's’ senior members at the time, and the ruling's stress on cruelty means any alternative to force-feeding will have to be provably non-harmful. "Any method that achieves the aim of swelling the liver is going to entail cruelty," he told BBC News Online. Noah won its case, Dr Menache said, by basing it on actual autopsies of birds that had been force-fed to prove the damage to their digestive system, throat and other organs.
There is no justification for inflicting suffering.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, first noted by the Egyptians thousands of years ago. However, this claim is patently false on several accounts.
 First, migratory geese never gorge themselves up until the point of death before migration. Such extreme behaviors would be physically incapacitating and would be antithetical to their survival. The livers of wild ducks and geese may expand up to twice their normal size, prior to migration, not a ten-fold expansion as found in forced-feeding production. Second, the duck species (Muscovy and Mulard or Moulard) used in foie gras production are non-migratory and not predisposed to gorging as are wild geese. In addition, wild birds who do migrate expend the excess fat for migration, unlike the severly confined birds in foie gras facilities. Artificially-induced gorging is extremely painful and debilitating to these birds, as noted by the European Scientific Committee on Health and Animal Welfare's 1998 report, which concluded that "Whilst the domestic goose might well be adapted to store food before migration, it is less likely that a cross between the domestic duck and the Muscovy duck, the Mulard, has such potential for food." The foie gras industry also defends their production methods by claiming it is a long-held tradition. However, ducks and geese fattened with figs in olden times were not forced to endure living inside dark warehouses in cramped and dirty wire cages with little or no water and force-fed with wide, inflexible and non-lubricated pipes. Today, the Mulard duck, a cross between the male Muscovy and the female Pekin duck, is the most commonly-used bird in the foie gras industry throughout the world. It is, in fact, the only species of bird used by U.S. foie gras producers because it is considered easier to raise than geese or other breeds of ducks. Because the male Mulard duck is larger and hardier (and thus better able to survive the rigors of force feeding), females are almost never used for foie gras, but are raised for meat.
FACT
FACTDuring cramming, the liver becomes a totally abnormal organ - grossly oversized in proportion to the bird's body. Our investigator describes it graphically: "It's like forcing an animal to smoke enormous quantities of cigarettes and then selling its cancerous, deformed lungs as a delicacy." FACTA large part of the world's human population suffers from malnutrition - yet we allow valuable grain stocks to be used to produce this expensive, 'gourmet food' to be sold in up-market shops and restaurants For scientific evidence of the cruelty inflicted, or for downloadable pamphlets. Visit www.nofoiegras.org Would you like Alzheimers with that?A protein found in foie gras can accelerate a potentially deadly disease process known as amyloidosis that occurs in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and tuberculosis, according to a study published on Monday. See the full article at www.iol.co.za Carte Blanche exposed the cruelty and effectively shut down a local supplier. See the insert here www.carteblanche.co.za WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Eat Faux Gras instead of Foie GrasRecipesInstead of supporting the inhumane force feeding of birds by consuming pate that is made from the enlarged livers of ducks and geese, try these humane "faux gras" alternatives that can be produced without causing any animal suffering. |
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Foie gras literally means 'fat liver'. People who eat foie gras are swallowing 85 per cent fat - which goes directly to their own liver, raising cholestrol, and contributing to many other health problems.