Foie gras production through force-feeding ducks and geese is among the most controversial farming practices, with a strong scientific evidence base for significant welfare harm and bans enacted in multiple countries.
Foie gras production represents one of the most clearly documented cases of severe, deliberate welfare harm in animal agriculture. The force-feeding process causes esophageal wounds, impaired liver function to the point of clinical disease (steatohepatitis), difficulty breathing from the massively enlarged liver compressing the air sacs, inability to walk normally due to abdominal enlargement, and behavioral indicators of significant distress during feeding procedures. Scientific review bodies including the EU Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare and the UK Farm Animal Welfare Council have concluded that force-feeding inherently compromises duck welfare in ways that cannot be mitigated. The legislative response in multiple countries reflects mainstream scientific and public ethical consensus that foie gras production causes unjustifiable suffering.