Foie gras, French for "fatty liver," is made from the grotesquely enlarged livers of male ducks and geese. The "delicacy" known as foie gras is one of the most sickening examples of cruelty promoted as "luxury."

The birds are kept in tiny wire cages or packed into sheds. Pipes are repeatedly shoved down the birds' throats, and up to 4 pounds of grain and fat are pumped into their stomachs two or three times every day for two to three weeks until they can barely move and are on the verge of organ rupture and death. For a 150 pound human, this would be equivalent to 60 pounds of food per day. The pipes puncture many birds' throats, sometimes causing the animals to bleed to death.

This cruel procedure causes the birds' livers to become diseased and swell to up to 10 times their normal size. Many birds become too sick to stand up. The birds who survive the force-feeding are killed, and their livers are sold for foie gras.