Dr. Thomas Vilgis, a food physicist, has a deep appreciation for foie gras, a delicacy made from fattened duck or goose liver. While he enjoys its rich flavors, he opposes the inhumane force-feeding practices used in industrial production. To address this ethical dilemma, he and his team have proposed a new method allowing for the natural growth of ducks and geese, aiming to replicate the foie gras experience without the associated animal suffering. Though not a substitute that spares the birds, this innovation could change the foie gras industry.
To fatten up the liver that's used to create foie gras, farmers force-feed the fowl more grain than their bodies need. The excess food is stored as fat in the animal's liver, which balloons in size.
Dr. Vilgis finds the force feeding intolerable at an industrial scale. It's terrible to see, he says.
Dr. Vilgis wondered whether he could somehow make a similar product but without this torture.
In a paper published Tuesday, he and his colleagues say they believe they have devised a technique that allows ducks and geese to eat and grow normally.
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