Ducks want to be force-fed?

As part of any investigation, I ask people to back up what they say.  During our interview about ducks being force fed to produce the gourmet delicacy foie gras, Chef Dan Scherotter from Palio d'Asti repeated something you hear frequently from the foie gras industry -- that ducks don't mind being force-fed.  They actually walk to the worker to be fed.  Here's video of Chef Dan's comment:



Chef Dan Scherotter, Palio d'Asti:  "The last 2-3 weeks are uncomfortable, I think the first couple days what I've seen, but then the ducks are going to the feeders, so they don't really care so much."

Dan: Really? The ducks actually go to the feeder? You've seen that."

"I've seen it."

Scherotter claimed he's seen the video -- something I haven't seen in all those reports I did, starting eight years ago, including a tour inside Sonoma Foie Gras.  Three times a day for the final three weeks of their lives, a worker grabs each duck, shoves a 10-inch metal pole down its throat, and an air pump sends a pound of corn into the bird.  During the process, the liver swells to more than ten times its normal size.  Many of the ducks I've seen become lethargic, some suffer perforations to their necks, others can't walk.  In our original reports in 2003, we showed the activists' video of rats eating ducks alive -- the birds couldn't move or defend themselves.
 
So, Dan Scherotter never provided the video of the duck walking toward a worker to be fed.  Here's part of our email exchange:
 

From Dan Noyes
To Chef Dan Scherotter
January 30, 2012
 
Thanks again for the interview, Chef.  The story airs this Thursday at 6.  Please direct me to any video of ducks coming toward a worker to be speed fed.  I'd really like to see it.
 
Best,
Dan
 
From Chef Dan Scherotter
To Dan Noyes
January 31, 2012
 
Thanks Dan, if I find some free time, I'll look for it.  Then again, I could also show you a hotdog eating contest.

Scherotter finally referred me to a video produced by Hudson Valley Foie Gras of New York, the only other foie gras producer in the country:
 

 
The company invites you to visit any time.  It would be interesting if they produced a video showing the last three weeks of a duck's life while being force fed, day-by-day.
 
Volunteers from the Animal Rescue & Protection League also went undercover at Hudson Valley recently, and here's their new video which includes some of those pictures:
 

 
Bottom line, I've never seen a duck -- in person at Sonoma Foie Gras or on any video -- wanting to be force-fed.  

I'll be back to update when the law banning foie gras takes effect July 1st.

*** Update 12:22pm 2-3-12: Comments are now working on this post.  Thanks, Dan ***

Comments

[Kathy Gleason]

Thank you for covering this issue Dan. I think there is only one way to find out if force feeding of these ducks is cruel. Let's have all of the chef's who serve foie gras, and the foie gras producers, go on a foie gras diet! Let's not allow them to eat anything but 30 lbs. of pasta pumped down their throats 3 times per day for 3 -4 weeks. Let's find a huge sumo wrestler to grab them around the neck and hold them down to pump the food down. And let's keep them confined in a pen. Let's see how they feel at the end of the diet. Do you think we could find any volunteers :)?

[Dave Bernazani]

Excellent coverage, Dan, thanks for having the courage to write about the truth about how cruelly these animals are treated, unlike many other journalists. The farming lobby is powerful, and I'm sure it's not easy to stand up to them. You bring integrity to your profession. Thank you again.

[shane]

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/452/poultry-slam-2011

There was a segment on This American Life on naturally raised foie gras. The geese want to over eat on their own. Why is it so hard to believe. I think your reports are extremely biased on this subject.

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I enjoy the fact that the website is caelld Professionals against Foie Gras but no where on their board of advisers is a professional chef. but sure they have a PGA Golf pro and an engineer at lockheed martin one of the worlds largest producers of missles and war planes. Its good to know that these are the people telling the city of Philly that Foie is so bad. thanks douch bags maybe take a look at yourself before you judge what someone else eats!

[Ahmed]

Luis, I've seen that video. It looks humane to you, but it looks inamnhue to me. Since neither of us is a duck, I guess each of us will just have to have differing opinions.Cameron, I agree that government intervention probably isn't the best solution for things like this.As for going after foie or factory beef or chicken, it's really just a matter of strategy. I think we can both agree that people trying to get factory farming of beef or chicken would have an extremely difficult time. As we've seen, they HAVE been successful in some places at getting foie gras banned.There's no question that a successful attempt to change factory beef would have a far bigger impact than changing cruel foie gras farming. But if a a successful attempt to change factory beef is practically impossible right now, I can't blame them for going after something where they have a chance at succeeding. Especially if doing it spurs public debate which can include factory farming.And it's not like these people are opposing foie INSTEAD of factory farming, many have opposed both they have just had more success with foie so far.Either way, it's really just a debate over strategy.And Cameron, I think you're not clear on the concept of a straw man argument.

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