The production of foie gras through force-feeding of ducks and geese causes severe welfare harm and has been banned in over 20 countries on animal welfare grounds.
Foie gras production represents one of the clearest-cut welfare cases in food production — the harm is direct, severe, and inflicted deliberately to achieve a culinary product not obtainable otherwise. Force-feeding multiple times daily causes acute distress during insertion of the feeding tube, esophageal inflammation, and liver disease so severe that it constitutes hepatic steatosis. Birds become unable to walk or breathe normally in the final stages before slaughter. The product has been banned in the majority of European countries on welfare grounds, representing one of the strongest legislative welfare signals in food animal production. Demand reduction in countries where it remains legal — including France and the US — is the primary advocacy lever available to welfare-concerned consumers.