Geese are farmed for meat, down, and foie gras. The force-feeding required for foie gras production causes severe welfare harm and is increasingly banned in many countries.
Foie gras production involves systematic, repeated infliction of severe stress and physical harm. The force-feeding process causes fear before each feeding, pain from esophageal insertion, and the progressive discomfort of an engorged, diseased liver pressing against other organs. Birds struggle to walk and breathe in the final stages of production. This is not a practice where welfare can be meaningfully improved — it requires force-feeding to function. Opposition from veterinary bodies, animal welfare organizations, and governments worldwide reflects a broad consensus that no consumer preference justifies this level of animal suffering. The welfare case for elimination rather than reform is unusually clear-cut.