Violence on Our Plate - Foie Gras
A Shooting Ourselves in the Foot: The Sanitizing of Violence in Our Society Article from All-Creatures.org

Throughout the ages, we have accepted killing, violence, and violent behavior as just being a part of life - it's time we change!

By: Frank L. Hoffman

Nearly every one of us has been to a party, a family gathering, or an "all you can eat" buffet where there was all kinds of food, and has eaten more than we should.  As a result, we had a very uncomfortable feeling.  Now suppose that the host made us eat even more food until it really began to hurt.  And if that wasn't bad enough, he or she forced even more food into us.  Try to imagine that feeling and then consider that this would happen to us at every breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.  We would be living in a constant state of torture and pain.   If we allow ourselves to feel this pain and suffering, then we are coming close to understanding the agony that approximately 10,000,000 ducks and geese go through each year before they are killed to satisfy the gourmet appetites of uncaring and unfeeling human beings who consume the 10,000 tons of their livers.

During the many days of their forced feedings, these ducks and geese are kept in small crates as shown in the picture (left).  This makes it easier for the workers to grab their necks and insert the feeding tubes or funnel stems down their throats.  When we over eat, we want to get up from the table and move around or change our position to help us feel more comfortable.  These ducks and geese don't even have that luxury.  They can barely move, which compounds their discomfort.

The birds struggle to keep away from these "feeders" when ever they see them, but their tight quarters prevents them from being successful.

The pictures above, and the left insert, show the methods used to force food into the stomachs of these defenseless birds.

For those of you who may still doubt, they do feel fear and pain.  Just consider what would happen inside our own bodies if our livers grew to ten times their normal size as is shown in the picture (below).

The liver on the left is a normal sized one. The one to the right is the result of forced feeding.  It even has an unhealthy color.

It also shouldn't take much imagination to realize that all this forced feeding could cause other physical damage, too.  In a study of one "farm", nearly 10% of all the birds died from having their stomachs burst, from having food enter their lungs, or from disease or infections caused from unclean feeding tubes.

This is an extremely cruel and inhumane industry, and we, as consumers, need to stop supporting it by buying and eating their products, or by attending functions that serve Foie Gras.  It's time we stop shooting ourselves in the foot by supporting and sanitizing violence in our society.  It's time we become compassionate!

For more information about the foie gras industry see: Ducks and Geese

Go on to: VIOLENCE ON OUR PLATE: "Sanitized at the Roadside Farm Store"
Return to: Shooting Ourselves in the Foot