Foie gras and battery hens debate

TV chef Rick Stein has caused a stir over comments in his BBC TV series in which he attacked "cruel" farming methods.

Mr Stein said that force-feeding ducks and geese to produce foie gras was no worse than battery hen farming.

FOIE GRAS

France denies that its farming methods are cruel

Ducks and geese are force-fed two or three times a day with up to half a kilo of grain and fat.

After two or three weeks, when the birds are ready for slaughter, their livers will have swollen to between six and ten times their natural size.

According to pressure group Advocates for Animals, most ducks and geese are kept permanently in individual cages.

The practice of force feeding to produce foie gras reputedly dates back to ancient Egypt. However, modern methods of forced feeding have prompted protests by animal campaigners and food lovers alike.

The European Union is studying complaints against the use of hydraulic or pneumatic machines to force-feed geese and ducks to fatten them before slaughter.

France, which is by far Europe's largest producer and consumer of foie gras, denies that its farming methods are cruel.

BATTERY HENS

Conventional battery hen cages are to be banned in 2012

The National Farmers Union estimate that there are 30 million UK hens kept in cages - accounting for about 70% of total production - and 270 million in the European Union.

Each hen is caged for 12 months and then slaughtered. Increasing number of families, major stores, chefs and restaurants are insisting their eggs are free-range.

EU welfare standards for laying hens will ban conventional battery cages from January 2012. The rules will still allow the use of slightly larger, so-called "enriched" cages.

Campaigners say "enriched" cages are only slightly bigger than the conventional ones at 45cm high and campaigners say they do not allow the hen to turn, stretch, or flap its wings.

It is also claimed that the perch in the cages, placed seven centimetres off the floor, does not allow the bird to stand up straight if it uses it.