Force-feeding of geese (origin of foie gras)
Cebado forzado de ocas (origen del foie gras)
- Date
- c. 2500 BCE · confidence medium
- Place
- Saqqara, Giza, Egypt
- Credited to
- Ancient Egypt (Old Kingdom)
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Reliefs in Old Kingdom mastabas show men hand-feeding geese and cranes with balls of grain. The Egyptians exploited the fattened liver of migratory birds, the basis of later foie gras.
It is debated whether the reliefs show real force-feeding or the handling of captive birds; the documented technique of fattening geese with figs is Roman (Pliny, Horace).
What it led to
- Greco-Roman tradition of goose liver fattened with figs
- medieval and modern European foie gras (Alsace, Gascony)
- ethical debate over force-feeding