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Farm Sanctuary Launches New 'No Foie Gras' Website, Releases Shocking Video

Farm Animal Protection Organization Leads the Fight to End Sale and Production of Foie Gras

Watkins Glen, NY - July 23, 2007 - Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal protection organization, has launched a new website with expanded and updated information on the production of the cruelly produced delicacy known as "foie gras." The website address, www.nofoiegras.com, will remain the same. Farm Sanctuary web administrator Timothy McGlynn, working in conjunction with Christina Gressianu, has created a site that is visually compelling, simple to navigate, and provides expanded information to meet the needs of activists, citizens, educators, researchers and journalists.

The production of foie gras is inherently cruel. Birds are de-beaked, de-toed, housed in filthy, poorly-maintained cages, and forced to ingest liquid feed pressure-pumped 12 inches down their throats through a metal pipe several times a day in order to induce severely diseased livers.

"We are extremely pleased with the launch," said Farm Sanctuary President Gene Baur, "and happy to be able to offer this comprehensive information on such a critical issue. When people understand and actually see how foie gras is produced they reject it as completely out of step with a society that values compassion. This new site will go a long way in bringing out the truth about the gratuitous violence involved in this archaic and unacceptable practice."

Foie gras (translated from French as "fatty liver") is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese two or three times each day through a pipe shoved down their throats. The force-feeding can cause painful bruising, lacerations, sores, and even organ rupture. Due to this unhealthy and unnatural diet, the birds' livers become diseased and swell up to 10 times their normal size, making it difficult for them to walk or even breathe. Foie Gras production is banned in more than a dozen countries; as well as California and Chicago.

The launch of the site coincides with the release of a new video, Foie Gras: Culinary Cruelty, a compelling and informative DVD revealing the truth about the elitist "delicacy" available by direct order from the site. Part of an ongoing campaign by Farm Sanctuary to end the production and sale of foie gras, the 12-minute film features commentary by Wildlife Pathologist Dr. Ward B. Stone, from the NY Department of Conservation, Dr. Holly Cheever, DVM, and Farm Sanctuary President Gene Baur. Veterinarians and other animal experts, along with religious leaders, businesses and legal scholars, have called for an end to the production of foie gras, for reasons that will be manifestly clear to anyone who views the heart wrenching footage captured in Culinary Cruelty.

"I urge everyone to see this sobering portrait of institutionalized torture endured by ducks on the foie gras assembly line," said Farm Sanctuary President Gene Baur." People have a right to know how a product gets to their plate, and once learning about the cruelties involved in producing foie gras, members of the public have consistently cast their votes for compassion."

Foie Gras: Culinary Cruelty can be ordered directly from Farm Sanctuary's website. For more information about how you can help end foie gras production, go to www.nofoiegras.com

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.