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One of the world’s largest retailers,
Amazon.com Inc., has agreed to
pay $100,000 in penalties and costs after a lawsuit over its sale of
foie gras in California. As part of the settlement, Amazon has also agreed to
discontinue the sale of foie gras in the state.
In 2004, California passed a law
banning the production and sale of foie gras throughout the state. Foie gras is
the product of the abusive practice of force-feeding ducks and geese. Workers
shove a metal pipe down their throats and force them to ingest more food than
they would naturally eat. The animals undergo this torment two or three times a
day. The birds’ livers become diseased, swelling up to 10 times their normal
size, resulting in terrible emotional and physical suffering for these animals.
“Foie gras” is French for “fatty liver.”
Most of the animals abused for
foie gras have difficulty walking and breathing normally. Many suffer ruptured
organs and die. The birds are typically kept in small, filthy cages for most of
their lives, unable to walk or spread their wings. They become so distressed that
they sometimes tear out their own feathers or cannibalize one another.
A 2013 Mercy For Animals
undercover investigation at the country’s largest foie gras producer exposed
workers violently grabbing ducks by their wings or necks, ramming a metal pipe
down their throats, and pumping enormous amounts of food into their stomachs.
This abhorrent practice is so
patently cruel it’s been banned not only in California but in more than a dozen
countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Israel. Last year Brussels
banned foie gras production and a New York
state senator introduced a bill to prohibit force-feeding birds.
What’s more, Postmates
announced earlier this year that it would no longer deliver foie gras.
It’s high time for Amazon to
follow the lead of Postmates and ban foie gras completely. The largest online retailer
in the world has no business making money off such egregious animal cruelty.
All
of us can take a stand for animals exploited by the meat, dairy, and egg
industries by choosing to eat delicious and humane plant-based alternatives.
With millions of people around the globe going vegan, there has never been a
better time to make the switch. Visit ChooseVeg.com to learn more, and make sure to check out our Pinterest
page for endless mouthwatering inspiration!