Author: Spade K

We all know that the world's three major delicacies are: foie gras, caviar, and truffles.

Among them, many people have heard this saying: "If you have not eaten French foie gras, it is equivalent to not having eaten French food." This sentence is enough to show the status of foie gras in French cuisine.

In France, there is even a website dedicated to foie gras, which contains all kinds of information about foie gras - types of foie gras, cooking methods, what kind of foie gras should be eaten on different holidays, etc.

No matter which method is used, no one's taste buds can escape the delicious temptation of foie gras!

But do you know how such delicious foie gras is made?

According to Junjun, France produces and consumes about 75% of foie gras each year, involving 24 million ducks and 500,000 geese. The United States and Canada use about 500,000 birds to make foie gras each year.

Many people believe that eating goose liver is a very cruel act. In order to make ducks and geese gain weight quickly, chicken feed and corn paste are fed into their stomachs through metal tubes several times a day, causing the liver to grow to 10 times its natural size.

Force-feeding can sometimes damage a bird's esophagus, which can be fatal. Also, because their livers swell, overly fat ducks and geese struggle to walk, tear their feathers, and attack each other under stress.

An investigation in New York's Hudson Valley found that one worker force-fed 500 birds three times a day, often mishandling them and injuring them. Many ducks and geese died from organ ruptures due to overfeeding, leading the valley to establish a bonus for workers who killed fewer than 50 ducks and geese per month. Employees there reported feeling tumor-like lumps in the throats of many ducks from the force-feeding.

According to Hudson Valley's own estimates, about 15,000 ducks die each year before being slaughtered, and every week the company sells foie gras made from 5,000 diseased ducks.

After looking at these pictures, I wonder what you feel?

Many people spontaneously reacted after seeing the torture these small animals suffered in order to satisfy human appetites.

A march was organized to call on everyone to boycott foie gras.

In 2004, California enacted a ban on the sale and production of foie gras that was due to take effect in 2012, but for unknown reasons it has not yet taken effect.

In 2006, Chicago banned the production and sale of foie gras, but the ban was overturned in 2008. Some European countries have also explicitly banned the production of foie gras.

Yesterday, the New York City Legislature passed a bill banning the sale of foie gras, effective starting in 2022. Starting at the end of 2022, the sale, consumption, and even storage of foie gras will be prohibited in New York. Violators will be fined between $500 and $2,000, with fines renewing every 24 hours!

The Animal Welfare Institute, an animal welfare association, tweeted its gratitude that "this inhumane luxury food" has finally been banned in New York!

Of course, the farmers who supply foie gras are unhappy about this bill. They believe that their practices are not cruel and that philanthropists are exaggerating the suffering of animals. For this reason, some even say they will take legal action.

Izzy Yane, co-founder of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, said the ban would be a severe blow to his business and a disaster for the more than 400 employees who have worked at the company for 30 years.

What do you think about this bill in New York, USA?