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#Post#: 46--------------------------------------------------
Foie Gras Ban is a Step in the Right Direction
By: ravina96 Date: August 22, 2012, 11:28 pm
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Imagine young ducks whose beak tips are clipped to prevent them
from pecking each other. These ducks first roam around freely in
a large barn, but are then placed outside in a park. When these
ducks are 12 to 15 weeks old, about old enough to be
slaughtered, they are caged indoors for two weeks. Eight ducks
per playpen are in a huge shed that is dimmed to keep the ducks
tranquil. While in the sheds, the young ducks are force-fed
twice a day by a feeder, who uses an 8 to 10-inch steel pipe
attached by a long hose to a machine drawing from a container of
food. The feeder inserts a metal tube down the duck's esophagus,
electronically administering the 10 to 12-ounce dose in four
seconds. After the ducks are force-fed by a metal tube, their
livers are then used to create a so-called delicacy known as
foie gras.
Foie gras is a French dish that is made from the liver of either
a goose or a duck that has been specially fattened by a process
known as gavage (force-feeding corn). The animals raised for
foie gras are force-fed up to 2 kg of grain and fat. This
delicacy is then sold, produced, and gorged all around the
world. After realizing the gruesome ways of concocting this
dish, many countries began banning its production, citing that
it is unlawful and inhumane to force-feed an animal for one’s
own personal pleasure.
On July 1st, 2012, the state of California banned the production
of foie gras, granting a $1000 fine for restaurants that
continued to produce foie gras. Though many enjoy this dish,
which is often peppered with spices, sauces, and vegetables,
many ducks are killed and harmed in the process. The livers of
these ducks are often blown up ten times their normal size, and
as a NYT reporter who visited California’s foie gras farm said,
“The force-fed ducks moved little and panted.” Another
journalist reported, “Some [birds] die from heart failure as a
result of the feeding or from choking when they regurgitate.”
The young ducks on the farms are packed tightly together so no
duck is able to stretch a wing or move the slightest inch in any
direction for 24 hours. Numerous ducks are unable to survive
these harsh living conditions; an average of 20% of ducks on the
foie gras farms die before the slaughtering of the duck happens,
which is 10 to 20 times the average death rate on a regular duck
farm. In addition, about 250,000 ducks are killed per year for
the production of this dish.
Although a few farms, such as the Hudson Valley Foie Gras Farm,
are hospitable for birds, the majority around the country are
not. For instance, in reference to a farm visited, Dr. Levine
said, “It was completely barren and they seemed to have only
access to a wire floor. This certainly has the potential to
stress…and many of the birds which have been there longer were
filthy and they did not have access to water to bathe
themselves.” The animals are generally under unfavorable
conditions that compromise their health, resulting in numerous
liver diseases, infections, and body sicknesses.
Some advocates of foie gras argue that because ducks and geese
have no gag reflex and can swallow whole fish, the process of
force-feeding is not cruel. However that's a false argument; Dr.
Emily Levine, a veterinarian and ethology expert, said,
“Although these animals have a genetic predisposition to store
larger amounts of fat in their liver, they do so for the
specific purpose of preparing to migrate. The birds in the
industry do not migrate and do not presumably receive the
external environmental cues that would normally signal them to
begin to eat more than usual.” In addition, while the birds are
feral, they eat a specific amount of food voluntarily. In light
of that, it is unfair to state that the technique the farming
industry uses is mimicking a natural behavior.
Foie gras is a dish that requires the force-feeding of ducks and
geese that has many detrimental effects. As a result diseases,
infections, and body apathy begin to sprout. Is the
force-feeding process really worth the life of a goose or a
duck? Is it really worth all that torture for the animal just
for our own personal pleasure? Well for those who enjoy gorging
this dish, sorry, because foie gras will gradually begin to be
banned all around the world.
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