Extremely Inhumane Foie Gras Served at Least 5 Restaurants in Sarasota!!

Foie gras, considered by some to be a delicacy, is produced by forcing a long metal pipe down the throats of ducks and geese and force-feeding them massive amounts of grain, resulting in their livers swelling to up to 10 times their normal size.

Two to three times a day, a worker grabs each bird, shoves a long, thick metal tube all the way down his throat, and an air pump shoots up to two pounds of corn mush into his esophagus. The industry always refers to the dry weight of the feed, which is about one pound per feeding. Adding oil and water doubles this weight, making it 20-30% of the bird's healthy body weight. Picture 30 one pound boxes of dry pasta and then add water. This is proportionally how much a 150 pound human would be force fed using this formula.

A duck's liver naturally weighs around 50 grams. However, to qualify as foie gras, the industry's own regulations require ducks' livers to weigh an absolute minimum of 300 grams.

The vast amounts of feed pumped down the ducks' throats causes enormous internal pressure, and the pipe sometimes punctures the esophagus, causing many to die from choking on the blood that fills their lungs. Some birds literally burst, choke to death on their own vomit, or become so weak that they are unable to fend off rats from eating them alive (click to see footage from Sonoma Foie gras--requires Windows Media Player). Other ducks die a slow, painful, and premature death by suffocation from inhalation of regurgitated feed. In fact, because of the massive toll taken on the birds during the force-feeding process, the average pre-slaughter mortality rate is up to twenty times higher than on other duck factory farms, according to the European Union's Scientific Report on the subject.

According to the ASPCA, "The birds' livers become so enlarged…that according to documentation by veterinarians, the animals must experience unspeakable pain and suffering. Birds have literally exploded from these forced feedings. The results of necropsies on dead birds that have been force-fed reveal ruptured livers, throat damage, esophageal trauma, and food spilling from the dead animals' throats and out of their nostrils."

What Restaurants DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE.

Already banned in California & Chicago and soon to be NYC, let's add Sarasota to the list. These restaurants think they are so upscale, how trendy is birds laying in their own vomit, bleeding to death from the inside, physically bursting?

Let these restaurants know what you think about them supporting these practices and serving Foie Gras:

Derek's Culinary & Casual
www.dereks-sarasota.com
514 Central Ave
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 366-6565

Summerhouse Restaurant
6101 Midnight Pass Road
Sarasota, FL 34242-2212
941-349-1100,
www.theplacetoeat.com

Maureen's Palm Grille
Unverified listing
5350 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, FL
(941) 383-7774

Ophelia's Restaurant
www.opheliasonthebay.net
9105 Midnight Pass Rd
Sarasota, FL 34242
(941) 349-2212

Fred's
www.fredsrestaurant.com
1917 S Osprey Ave
Sarasota, 34239
(941) 364-5811