Foie gras is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese to enlarge their livers, a practice widely condemned on welfare grounds and banned in many jurisdictions.
Foie gras production places an acute welfare burden on individual animals at every stage: the confinement that limits natural movement, the repeated tube insertion causing oesophageal trauma and stress responses, and the extreme organ enlargement that impairs respiration and locomotion. Scientific advisory bodies including the EFSA have concluded that the gavage process is inherently harmful. Consumer campaigns have succeeded in reducing foie gras availability in many markets, demonstrating the power of demand-side welfare action. Producers who claim "humane" foie gras through voluntary gorging have not provided peer-reviewed evidence that the product can be made without animal suffering.