Festive delicacy comes at a painful price

NOT that many years ago, foie gras was an expensive delicacy that was beyond the financial means of most people. Today, foie gras appears on menus throughout the country, and is on sale in many food outlets

During the festive season, its consumption rockets.

Fois gras is a French term meaning ‘fatty liver’ and it is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese - 38 million of them in France alone. The birds are routinely confined to small cages or crowded pens.

They are force-fed enormous quantities of feed by means of a 12-to-16-inch plastic or metal tube, which is shoved down their throats and attached to a pressurised pump.

The force-feeding may be performed twice daily for up to two weeks for ducks and three to four times daily for up to four weeks for geese. Force-feeding causes the liver to increase in size about six to 10 times compared to the normal size for a bird, resulting in extreme pain and distress.

Poland, Denmark, Germany and Israel are among those countries that have banned the force-feeding of geese. We in Ireland can support the slow yet steady process of ridding the world of such a barbaric practice by not ordering or buying imported foie gras in the coming weeks. Restaurateurs and food outlets will quickly get the message.

Gerry Boland

Keadue

Co Roscommon