Could+you+swallow+this?

Name: Mitchell Lewis
Student Number: 08810966 Tutor: Michelle Cornford




 * Artefact **



The photo presented above is taken from a support ad run by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), with the aid successful gourmet food connoisseur and upscale hotel manager Eva-Miriam Gerstner. This advertisement was run for the support of ceasing Foie Gras (French for fatty liver) sale and production. The effects of this in-your-face ad were quickly apparent after multiple luxury hotels and restaurants in Germany ceased serving the controversial dish after being sent a copy of the add (Kretzer. M. 2012). It could be argued that it was Gerstner’s status as a public figure is to be credited for the ads success more so than the advertisements graphic nature. However one thing that is for sure is it served its purpose.


 * Public Health Issue**

The production and consumption of Foie Gras is highly controversial and has been the subject of many ethical debates over the years. For Foie Gras or fatty liver to be produced ducks or geese are force fed till their livers are more than quadruple in size. The morality is these animals suffer to produce a rather insignificant ingredient to a meal. In addition to enduring force-feedingbirds are also subjected to other neglectful conditions that are prevalent amongst other facets of the meet industry such as overcrowding, mutilations, confinement before eventually dying by slaughter or due to the effects of brutal force feedings. The rest of this literature will focus on the treatment these animals endure in order for production or Foie Gras and why, despite knowledge of this we still allow it to continue as a practice. (The Pain Behind Foie Gras 2013)


 * Literature Review **

The ethical treatment of animals has long been a main focal point in relation to meat and animal product industry practices. The demand for products has steadily increased over the last decade (ABS 2013). Meaning producers are continually looking at ways to speed up the progression it takes for an animal to arrive in the holding pens or feedlots etc. to the time it’s transported for slaughter and harvested for the products in which it (the animal) produces (The Pain Behind Foie Gras 2013). This increase of demand also results in the requirement for the animal/s in question to produce more of said product. Using hormone treatments and most notably overfeeding can produce this desired outcome.

Before an opinion on whether or not the production, sale and consumption of the Foie Gras is ethical or not, it must first be established exactly what occurs to the animal itself during these production practices. Historically it was geese that were primarily used in this practice, most farms now raise ducks for this purpose as it was discovered that more than just the livers of ducks could be sold e.g. breast and legs, whereas geese’s body’s age to quickly for this. The birds are housed in wire cages or placed into overcrowded sheds and spend the first four weeks of their lives eating and growing as normal sometimes in very poor light (Cook, 2007). Force-feeding begins at eight weeks and the birds are confined to cages in week’s five to eight. During this period they are fed high-protein, high-starch diet designed to stimulate rapid growth. The birds are then subjected to gavage for, four hours every day for up to twenty-one days (Why is eating foie gras an animal welfare issue?, 2010). During this anywhere up to four pounds of grains and fats are forced down the bird’s throats through a metal tube. It has been noted that the tube is pushed five inches down their throats and a significant amount more food than the birds would usually eat is propelled down (Cook, 2007). Too make matters worse if any food bolus becomes stuck a stick can be used to force it down causing tumorous growths in the throat. This force-feeding process can result in a carbohydrate-induced state of hepatic steatosis (A liver disease) (League, 2012). It has been found that geese and ducks raised for the purpose of Foie Gras production can have a mortality rate of up to twenty times higher then that of their normally raised counterparts (Rollin, 2013). Not only can this practice result in throat damage. A lack of nutrients like calcium in the diet leads to weakened bones and fractures. Other effects detrimental to the bird’s health are the enlarged liver expanding the abdomen causing movement and breathing difficulties. In some cases the liver damage can result in heart, kidney and liver failure or the liver itself can haemorrhage. By the time the birds are slaughtered they’re in a severely diseased state (The Pain Behind Foie Gras 2013).

To put this into perspective imagine this entire process happening to a human being! People living with renal, hepatic and cardiovascular problems are often in copious amounts of pain and discomfort and can die painful deaths.

There are currently three main forms of Foie Gras production. Traditional, industrial and humane/ethical. The traditional involves the birds being placed in small groups and hand fed individually. The industrial method of gavage facilitates the force-feeding process by keeping the birds in individual small cages as opposed to in groups. The third and newest form defined as humane or ethical does not involve the traditional force-feeding method and instead draws on the animal’s natural inclination to store energy reserves for winter by fattening themselves up by overeating (Youatt 2011).

In response to findings in relation to the treatment of animals in Foie Gras production many countries have established bans on the production, sale or force-feeding process itself (Corporation, 2008. These countries include: Luxemburg in 1965, Germany in July, 1972, Norway in 1974, Denmark in 1991, Czech Republic in 1993, Finland in 1996, Poland in 1997, Europe Union in 1998, United Kingdom in 2000, Italy in 2001, Argentina in 2003, Israel in 2003 and several states in the US (United States) in 2004 (including California)(Harrington, 2007). These countries all established these bans have all been based on similar findings of some sort of animal cruelty within the Foie Gras industry. In Australia the production of Foie Gras is prohibited, however the importation is still legal. There are many lobbyists and animal welfare campaigners making headway in having Foir Gras completely ba  nned from the country, with many prestigious Brisbane restaurants removing it from their menus after receiving letters from animal rights campaigner Jaylene Farrell. Current debates slowing down the progression of banning the production and sale of Foie Grass everywhere is public opinion that they should be allowed to eat what they want, but also the introduction of new methods such as: ethical or humane gavage (Gayne, 2011). This has negative implications for anyone rallying for a ban on Foir Gras production as it can be argued that if the birds are happy to overeat by themselves without  being forced it cannot be considered to be cruel as the birds are capable of doing this outside of captivity as well (Cook, 2007).

Vegetarians and animal rights activists have played a crucial role in the bans and limitations already established in the Foie Gras industry. Protests and awareness campaigns developed and aimed at the general population have allowed the opposing of Foie Gras production to gain significant headway ( Kretzer. M. 2012). These groups would argue that their sole motivation is the protection of animal welfare. However these advocates are not only rallying for the halt of force-feeding but the discontinuation of the entire industry (Youatt 2011). Whilst some see this as a positive result, we need to keep in mind that not everyone wants to banish meat and meat products from their diets and lifestyles. This is within their rights in our society (Caro, 2009). Before the desolation of a complete industry, the impact on workers that make their livelihoods out of this industry needs to be  considered. The practice of gavage has been in place for centuries and Foie Gras as a product has been a source of prosperity for many countries, communities, companies and individuals. To suggest the eradication of this practice also means impacting adversely on societies and individuals, who rely on it to make what is their right as a human being to establish a life within the confines of a legal practice (Caro, 2009). This is not to say that the process of Foie Gras production is ethical, but whilst the producers are not breaking any established legislation, they cannot be hindered in their civil rights because of one-sided opinions.
 * Cultural and Social Analysis ** The production of Foie Gras has become an increasingly contested public health issue in the last decade. Vegetarians, animal rights groups/advocates, farmers and ordinary people all play a part in the insurgency encompassing the current Foie Gras industry (Gayne, 2011).


 * Analysis of Artefact and Reflection of Learning **

As mentioned previously my artefact represents cruelty and mistreatment of birds in the production of foie gras. I believe it represents my topic accurately as it graphically depicts the discomfort one would feel having a tube forced down ones esophagus and food blasted down into your stomach, to the point of discomfort. We all know the feeling of eating too much, this picture helps relate to the point of view of the animal, who experiences that feeling their entire life before being slaughtered. Before this topic I was an avid consumer of meat and whilst doing this subject has not changed my view on my dietary preferences, I would not consume foie gras after seeing the process of production. I was never one to think too much in to the processes of how meat gets to my plate, but I now have a much deeper sympathy for what the animals go through. This assessment has broadened my research abilities and given me a different perspective on public health.

** Reflection. ** http://healthcultureandsociety2013.wikispaces.com/page/messages/Battery+Hens+-+A+different+perspective

http://healthcultureandsociety2013.wikispaces.com/page/messages/Where+do+you+get+your+protein+from%3F

** References. **

Animal Rescue and Protection League (2012). //What is Foie Gras?// Retrieved from [|**http://www.stopforcefeeding.com/content/environmental-impact**]

Caro, M. (2009). //The Foie Gras Wars: How a 5,000-Year-Old Delicacy Inspired the World's Fiercest Food Fight//. Retrieved from SimonandSchuster.com.

Cook, K. (2007). //Inhumanity of Foie Gras Production-Perhaps California and Chicago Have the Right Idea The Journal of Animal Legalities & Ethics, 2(262).//

Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (2008). //Dishing up foie gras ruffles feathers//. //The gourmet delicacy foie gras has long been a controversial matter.// Retrieved from []

Gayne, M. (2011). //How much is too much? Foie-gras production//. //The Economist//.

Harrington, A. R. (2007). //Not all it’s Quacked up to be: Why State and Local Efforts to Ban Foie Gras Violate Constitutional Law//. //Drake Journal of Agricultural Law., 4//(234). Retrieved from [].

Kretzer, M. (2012 ). //Photo: Get a Feel for Foie Gras Retrieved from The Peta Files,// []

League, A. R. a. P. (2012). //What is foie gras?// Retrieved from []

// The Pain Behind Foie Gras // (2013). Retrieved from PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, []

Rollin, B. (2013). //Foie Grass Farms//. Retrieved from []

Segura, G. (2013). //Fatty Liver and Foie Gras: When Humans Are Forced-Fed Sugar.// Retrieved from University of Milan []

Statistics, A. B. o. (2013). //Livestock and Meat, Australia//. (7218.0.55.001 ). from Australian Bureau of Statistics []

Why is eating foie gras an animal welfare issue? (2010). (383 ). from RSPCA []

Youatt, R. (2012). //Power, Pain, and the Interspecies Politics of Foie Gras//. //Political Research Quarterly, 65//(2), 346-358. Retrieved from ProQuest Central.Retrieved from []