Olympic medallists, conservationists, sustainability experts, and animal academics call on the Olympic Games’ organisers to remove foie gras from the menu
Animal Equality has launched a global campaign urging the Olympic Games Committee to remove foie gras produced through force-feeding from the Games’ menu.
Within a few days, the petition gathered over 50,000 signatures, and now dozens of athletes, academics, and environmentalists have joined the campaign by writing an open letter to the Olympic Games’ organisers.
The letter expresses the concerns of all involved regarding the impact of the foie gras industry on animals, the environment, and human health.
Among the signatories are high-profile environmentalist Chris Packham, New Zealand professional tennis player and Olympic bronze medalist Marcus Daniell, and former American cyclist and Olympic silver medalist Dotsie Bausch.
Foie gras on the Olympics’ menu
This global campaign and the action of athletes and experts follow Animal Equality’s recent discovery that foie gras produced through force-feeding will be served on-site to VIP guests purchasing hospitality packages.
This year, the organisers had decided to shift their menu towards more plant-based foods, with 60% of the dishes served at the Olympics being vegetarian or vegan.
Switching to a plant based diet, in fact, is the key to helping all animals exploited for human consumption, and also helps protect the planet too. Millions of people are already making this compassionate choice every day, you should try too!
We congratulate the committee for this giant leap forward, but it begs the question: how did foie gras end up on the menu?
Olympic Games Chef, Charles Guilloy, has publicly stated that he will not include foie gras on the spectator menus because “animal well-being is on everyone’s mind”. However, this statement raises even more questions about why this product will be served in the premium lounges.
The letter to urge the Olympic organisers
Veterinarians, animal advocates, and university researchers specialising in infectious diseases, public health, animal behaviour, and food systems have joined Animal Equality in outlining their concerns about the impact of foie gras made by force-feeding on animal welfare, the environment, and human health. Together, they have lent their support for a letter coordinated by Animal Equality which has been sent to key decision-makers and members of the International Olympic Committee.
Foie gras made by force-feeding is criminal – quite literally in many countries. It causes unimaginable pain to ducks and geese, puts undue pressure on our precious planetary resources, and risks human health. We don’t want foie gras to feature at the Games, and nor do Olympic medalists, conservationists, and world-leading experts. The organisers of the Paris 2024 Olympics must listen to the experts and remove this dish from its menu at once.
Sharon Núñez, President of Animal Equality
Those supporting the action claim that the organising Committee is ‘hypocritically signalling to the international community that it is willing to consciously condone and pay for undeniably cruel treatment of animals’.
Ducks used for foie gras are force-fed up to 45 times throughout their lives, while geese can be force-fed up to 63 times. Once their livers become diseased from this process, the animals are slaughtered. This practice causes them extreme physical and psychological pain. Ducks in this industry live 3-5% of their natural lifespan, and geese 2-3% of theirs.
Condemned by many, the force-feeding of animals has been widely criticised for decades and is a crime in many countries, including Italy, Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
Those supporting the letter believe – as we do – that the International Olympic Committee ‘must use its influential position to unite the world, not divide it’ and ‘not ignore the concerns of the global population’ by removing foie gras from the menu.
The problem with foie gras
The problems are not limited to ducks and geese: force-feeding these animals requires ‘abundant quantities of corn’ and is responsible for contributing to continued environmental degradation as a result. Experts express alarm over the cultivation and transportation of monoculture grains, the use of water and synthetic fertilisers, which contribute to reducing and impoverishing biodiversity, soil nutrients, water quality, and ecosystems, while simultaneously increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Foie gras, translated as ‘fatty liver’ in French, also raises health concerns for many, due to it being rich in saturated fats and cholesterol, which can contribute to the development of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
In recent years, foie gras farms in France have been devastated by deadly avian flu outbreaks, raising concerns about the impact that foie gras production can have on individual health and global public health. The letter’s signatories write:
‘The Olympic Games celebrate some of the healthiest and fittest individuals on the planet; featuring foie gras at such an event is, respectfully, an oxymoron’.
Help us get the foie gras out of the Olympics
Join over 50,000 concerned citizens from around the world that already signed our petition to the Olympic Games organisers.
The Olympics represent friendship and inclusivity: foie gras has no place there. We want this cruel product to be removed from the menu, are you with us?
END THE CRUELTY
Foie gras is immensely cruel. Its production causes ducks and geese severe physical and psychological pain. You can protect ducks and geese by opting for plant-based alternatives.
