Ducks and geese are migrating birds. Before migrating they gorge themselves with food and store it in their livers for the long journey ahead. Farmed birds have lost the instinct for migration but they still have the same digestive system. Force-feeding does not hurt them because there is no obstruction in their necks, and they have a gizzard instead of a stomach.
The ducks feed themselves in the open until they are four months old. They are then force-feed with a half-kilo of maize each day for 12 days, then slaughtered. In those 12 days the ducks themselves do not grow but their livers grow from 50 grams to 500 grams. The liver, and every other salvageable part of the duck including the gizzard and neck, is turned into pâté, terrine, rillette, galantine or confit. Sample foie gras on a small toast with a local sweet white wine.
Foie gras 
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