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Banning Foie Gras in the US: Your questions answered

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How can foie gras be made illegal in the US? Animal Equality's President Sharon Núñez and Sarah Hanneken, Legal Advocacy Counsel, answer your questions.
March 22, 2022
Updated: April 15, 2024
Animal Equality

Each year millions of ducks and geese suffer at the hands of the foie gras industry and its cruel practice of force-feeding. Because it’s considered an unacceptable practice to most people, it’s been banned in several countries. Currently in the US, it’s illegal only in California and New York City, leaving much work to be done across the country.

Animal Equality is committed to working toward a permanent end to foie gras production in the US, and we’re working strategically with local state legislation to get there. How can you take action in our campaign? President Sharon Núñez and our Legal Advocacy Counsel Sarah Hanneken sat down to discuss our investigative work and answer your most critical questions about how you can make a significant impact for ducks and geese.

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Ban foie gras in the United States now

Foie gras is one of the most violent animal products available. Ducks and geese are force-fed through a tube that is inserted into their throats in a process called gavage.

Large amounts of fat are deposited into the duck’s liver, causing it to grow up to ten times its normal size. This can leave the animals unable to walk or even breathe before slaughter.

Force-feeding is extremely painful and stressful for these sensitive animals and causes injuries and death from ruptured organs.

Foie gras is already banned in several countries

Due to the animal cruelty involved, the State of California and several countries—including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel (formerly the world’s fourth-largest foie gras producer), Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Argentina—have either outright prohibited force-feeding for foie gras production and/or sale or have interpreted production as illegal under existing anti-cruelty laws.

In the UK, where production is already illegal, the government is also considering banning the import of foie gras.

Most recently, New York City overwhelmingly passed a bill to ban the sale of foie gras in 2019. Additionally, several restaurants and retailers—such as Costco, Safeway, Target, Giant Eagle, Whole Foods Market, and Wolfgang Puck—refuse to sell foie gras due to animal cruelty concerns.

It’s time to end the cruel force-feeding of animals

The undersigned demand that the United States follow the lead of the many countries listed above and similarly ban the sale and production of foie gras in the USA. It’s time for this cruel delicacy to become a thing of the past. I stand with Animal Equality in calling for an immediate ban on this atrocity.

Photo: Animal Equality | Aitor Garmendia

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