Foie gras, the artificially fattened liver of force-fed ducks and geese, may be a food for the rich, but that didn’t stop world-renowned gourmet food store Harvey Nichols from making the compassionate decision to pulling the plug on the pate. In early August, the department store joined a growing list of restaurants and food stores by announcing once it sells existing stocks of the “delicacy,” Harvey Nichols will no longer be selling foie gras.

The decision comes on the heels of protests by animal protection organizations at Harvey Nichols stores in Edinburgh, Scotland and Manchester, England. The production of foie gras is banned in the U.K. and popular U.K. retailers Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer and Co-op do not sell foie gras for ethical reasons. U.S. food specialty chains Williams-Sonoma and Stonewall Kitchen have both stopped selling foie gras after receiving information about its cruelty.

Foie gras production universally ranks as one of the cruelest forms of animal agriculture. Investigators confirmed the cruelty in foie gras production first hand after witnessing ducks crammed in filthy, feces-ridden sheds and ducks suffering and dying of organ rupture after being force fed nearly four pounds of corn mush a day through metal pipes shoved down the birds’ throats. The three daily force-feedings frequently choke, injure or kill the birds by gouging open their throats with the metal pipe. By the end of the force-feeding process, ducks are physically debilitated with livers five to ten times normal size and many are unable to stand or walk. In the U.S., California has passed a law that will ban the sale and production of foie gras by 2012 and it is illegal to sell foie gras in the city of Chicago.

Visit www.banfoiegras.org for more information on foie gras and what you can do to encourage restaurants in your area to stop selling it.