American Airlines Jettisons Foie Gras From Menu After Talks With PETA

PETA Celebrates Victory for Birds Force-Fed and Maimed for Product

For Immediate Release:
October 1, 2012

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Fort Worth, Texas -- After receiving PETA's undercover exposé revealing the extreme suffering of geese and ducks on foie gras farms, Fort Worth–based American Airlines has informed the group that it will no longer serve foie gras, the product of cruel force-feeding, on any of its flights.

"American Airlines' decision to stop selling foie gras respects the wishes of the vast majority of the public, who want to see an end to the violent practice of force-feeding," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Animal defenders around the globe are flying high today because American Airlines has demonstrated that good business and kindness go hand in hand."

Foie gras, French for "fatty liver," is made from the grossly enlarged livers of ducks and geese. Pipes are shoved down the birds' throats, and up to 4 pounds of grain and fat are pumped into the animals' stomachs two or three times a day. The birds' livers become diseased and swell to up to 10 times their normal size. The pipes puncture many birds' throats, causing some animals to bleed to death. Investigations at major foie gras farms in the U.S. as well as at many farms across Europe have revealed sick, dying, and dead animals.

Foie gras production is so inhumane that California passed a law in 2004 banning its sale and production. Force-feeding has also been outlawed in Israel, the U.K., and a dozen other countries, and it has been denounced by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, celebrity chef Charlie Trotter, and many grocers, including Whole Foods, Target, Giant Eagle, and Harris Teeter. Food service giants ARAMARK and Compass Group North America have also ended foie gras sales.

Together with sister company American Eagle and regional carrier AmericanConnection, American Airlines serves more than 250 destinations in more than 50 countries in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. The overall fleet exceeds 900 aircraft.

For more information, please visit PETA's blog.