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In a win for animal advocates
across the country, the United States Supreme Court refused to
hear a case challenging the ban on the sale and production of foie gras in California. This means that after years of court
challenges, the ban that passed in 2004 and took effect in 2012 is here to
stay.
This is wonderful news for geese
and ducks who are mercilessly tormented for this cruel product. Foie gras is
produced by the abhorrent practice of force-feeding birds. Workers shove a metal pipe down their throats and force them to ingest
more food than they would naturally eat. The animals endure this suffering 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 trauma
for these animals. “Foie gras” is French for “fatty liver.”
Most animals abused for foie gras have
difficulty breathing. 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 largest U.S. 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.
California officially joins more
than a dozen countries that have banned this cruel product, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Israel.
In 2018, Brussels banned
foie gras production, and a New York state
senator introduced a bill to prohibit force-feeding birds. What’s more, Postmates
announced that it would no longer deliver foie gras.
All of us can take a stand for farmed animals by refusing
to eat them. With 2019 declared “the year of the vegan,” there has
truly never been a better time to switch to a healthy and humane plant-based lifestyle.
For free plant-based
recipes, live
support on vegan eating, and an innovative plant-based
meal planner, visit our ChooseVeg website today.