it depends if you`re talking the real thing, or fake. i`m french (real, not fake) and i make a very ethical alternative to foie gras that would fool any connoisseur. It`s all about re-creating the fattened liver; but after the liver is out of the bird, not whilst still in it! As it`s Christmas time, I am willing to share the top secret recipe that`s been handed down through ma famille for generations...! Are you ready??

TERRINE DE FOIE GRAS DE MAMIE MONIER

250g salted butter (at room temperature)
250g chicken or duck liver (the best you can find, but as it comes, no `gavage`!!°
1 glass white wine
1/3 (third) glass port wine
2 shallots, finely chopped
fresh thyme
1 bayleaf
nutmeg
pepper

1. Fry shallots in some oilve oil until transparent.
2. Add chicken or duck livers together with white wine, thyme, bayleaf and pinch of nutmeg then cook for 5-7 minutes until liver is pink - be careful not to overcook!
3. Strain cooked liver mixture to remove excess liquid.
4. Blend livers with room temperature butter, port, nutmeg and pepper to taste (using hand blender).
5. Pour mixture into terrine dish, put into fridge and leave minimum 5 hours, ideally overnight.

Bon appetit et joyeux noel to all you birds out there!!

That’s the million dollar question! It depends what you think of force feeding. Migratory birds have the natural ability to shore up fat in their livers to cope with long flights south for winter. Force feeding them causes the livers to behave this way, exaggeratedly so, which makes them rich and slightly sweet.
Now, fattening animals up for slaughter is an ancient practice and unless you only eat wild meat, you can’t deny that you’ve eaten beasties that are, to some extent, force-fed. But what gets people jumpy about foie gras is the practice of ‘gavage’. Some geese or ducks bred for foie gras are literally held down and given corn meal through a funnel. In small farms where the traditional methods are still practiced, this is done by hand. Some people even argue that the geese and ducks on these small “fermiers” like the force feeding.
Sadly, the vast majority of foie gras available in shops is factory farmed. The animals are caged, like our battery hens, and the whole process is mechanized.
Personally I think all battery farming, for whatever purpose, is cruel. I wouldn’t eat a factory-farmed goose, duck or hen, let alone its liver.
In Spain, they have recently come up with what some people are calling ethical foie gras, which is only available seasonally. Just before they migrate, geese and ducks will fatten themselves up naturally. No ‘gavage’ is involved. This means that ‘Ganzo Iberico’, as it is known, is only available just before Christmas time. Personally, this appeals to me, since I think naturally occurring, seasonal food, is always the best.
I hope this goes some way to answering your question. One more, curious foie gras fact: It is illegal to produce foie gras in the UK but not to buy it, which says everything about our widespread ambivalence to animal welfare. In a recent poll, the RSPCA found that 63% of UK respondents would like to see it banned altogether. You cold check out their arguments and images of gavage feeding on: www.rspca.org.uk/foiegras