December 10, 2003

[Addressed to each U.S.
representative and senator]

[Dear Representative ______ / Senator ______ :]

This holiday season, we request your leadership in compassion by urging you to forego foie gras wherever it may be served and to inform others that you will not indulge in foie gras because of the extreme cruelty involved in its production. Cruelty is the reason many restaurants will not serve foie gras, many nations have outlawed foie gras production, and caring Americans want foie gras production banned.

Foie gras, a duck or goose liver enlarged to many times normal size through repeated force-feeding for weeks on end, is most widely served during the holiday season -- just at the time of year devoted to the universal desire for peace and the renewing of worthy commitments! Spiritually and ethically, the holidays and foie gras do not mix. Likewise, genuine leadership and foie gras do not mix - less animal suffering, not more, must always be humanity's goal.

If you give a holiday party, some in the catering or restaurant industry may recommend that you serve foie gras. It may be served at parties where you are a guest. Producers seek to put a happy face on this grisly product -- many retailers are misled. A decade ago, upon viewing videotape of force-feeding at a foie gras factory farm, the head chef at a famous hotel told me he would stop serving foie gras immediately. The company had told him it made foie gras without force-feeding the birds - impossible. He had been tricked into serving it!

As the attached factsheet explains, foie gras is always cruelly produced. The birds suffer from the pipes shoved down their throats to their stomachs three times a day, the unconscionable amount of food pumped into them, and the liver disease that would kill them if slaughter did not intervene.

As one of our nation's highest elected officials, you can shine a light of compassion this holiday season. Please remember the gentle ducks and geese subjected to cruel force-feeding every day of the year. Please inform those around you of the foie gras problem. Your example and your influence can help end needless suffering. Please let me know of any questions you may have about this important matter or of any way you may choose to help. Thank you for your consideration and for your service. I hope you will have a joyous and rewarding 2004.

Sincerely,

David Cantor
Executive Director