Geese are farmed for meat, down, and foie gras. The foie gras end of the spectrum represents some of the most extreme welfare abuse in food production, while conventional goose farming has its own challenges.
Goose welfare occupies a spectrum from the extreme abuse of foie gras production to the more moderate welfare concerns of conventional farming. Foie gras stands out as one of the most clearly welfare-abusive practices in food production: force-feeding is deliberately designed to create a pathological state in the liver, and the process causes esophageal scarring, difficulty breathing, and impaired locomotion as the organ enlarges. Legislative bans in jurisdictions including the EU (production only) and California reflect broad recognition that this practice crosses an ethical line. Conventional goose farming has less acute welfare problems but fails to provide the water access and social grouping that geese strongly motivate toward. Down supply chains have been a target of welfare campaigns, with live-plucking bans and Responsible Down Standards providing some consumer-actionable options.