Foie gras - French for "fat liver" is the fattened liver of a duck or goose that has been overfed. Along with truffles, foie gras is considered one of the greatest delicacies in French cuisine.
The history of foie gras dates to about 2500 BC when the Egyptians found that migratory birds from the north were stocking fat in their livers by overeating, stopping only to drink before arriving in Egypt with enormous livers. They imitated the overeating by force-feeding the birds with figs, improving their livers' taste .
By about 100 BC, the technique had spread through the ancient Greek world and the Roman Empire.
France is the leading producer and consumer of foie gras. The country produced 18,450 tonnes of it in 2005 (75 per cent of the estimated total world production level of 23,500 tonnes) of which 96 per cent was duck liver and the rest goose. Consumption of foie gras in France totalled 19,000 tonnes in 2005
Force-feeding is prohibited in 12 EU countries, including Ireland, but the sale of foie gras is not. In Ireland, French foie gras has been supplemented in recent years by cheaper Chinese supplies.