Scope of Work: Analysis of Potential Foie Gras Bans

Dr Rebecca Niemiec, Animal-Human Policy Center Colorado State University Dr Lori Kogan, Clinical Sciences Department, Colorado State University Overall Objectives of the Research: Assess the impact a foie gras ban would have on restaurants, including the choices consumers would make without the option of foie gras and the economic and climate impact of these choices Assess overall public support for foie gras bans and effective messaging to enhance public support Assess the current consumer demand for and interest in foie gras nation-wide Examine the economic impact of removing foie gras from the menu in cities where it has been banned or restaurants that voluntarily removed it. Phase 1: Public Polling and Choice Experiment in Colorado We propose conducting a survey of a demographically representative sample of the Colorado public using Dynata survey company. The survey will ask about people’s behaviors and beliefs related to foie gras, and support of a ban on the sale of foie gras as well as force feeding. We will also include a choice experiment which would involve providing respondents with menus with and without foie gras (randomized as an experiment) to examine 1) people's self-reported likelihood of going to the restaurant with and without foie gras on the menu; and 2) purchasing choices. This will enable us to estimate net profits from a menu with and without foie gras and food choices/carbon emissions when foie gras is taken off the menu. We hypothesize that the presence of foie gras on the menu will have little impact on their choice of going to the restaurant, the average price of the meal they would choose to purchase, and the average carbon emissions of their meal choice. Budget: $10,000: 15 minute Dynata survey with approximately 3,000 respondents in Colorado Timeline: Completion of data collection and analysis, report produced by Fall 2025 Phase 2: Assessment of Consumer Demand and Economics Impacts from Existing Bans/Removal from Menus Our next phase of research will involve data scraping of all french cuisine menus on the internet in 10 progressive cities including Denver to examine what percentage of restaurants have foie gras, and the average price of foie gras compared to other menu items. We will then examine reviews of these restaurants to determine how often foie gras is mentioned compared to other food items on their menu. We hypothesize that a small portion of restaurants actually sell foie gras and for those that do, it is rarely discussed in consumer reviews of restaurants. In this phase of research we will also contact over 100 restaurants that have taken foie gras off their menu in in those cities and conduct interviews with restaurant owners to understand: 1) why they took it off their menu; 2) how taking it off their menu impacted revenue; and 3) perceived benefits of taking it off their menu. Budget: $10,000: $5000 for two contractors working a combined 200 hours at $50/hour Timeline: Completion of data collection and analysis, report produced by Winter 2026 Phase 3: Assessment of Effective Messaging about Foie Gras Our final phase of research will involve developing, testing, and disseminating messages to potential voters, based on Phase 1 and 2 results, to enhance support for a potential foie gras ban in Denver. This phase of research will involve first, doing in-person intercept interviews with potential Denver voters in public locations to examine common misperceptions and beliefs around this issue. Second, we will conduct focus groups and a messaging experiment testing the impacts of different messages (e.g., messages highlighting animal welfare impacts of foie gras, minimal economic impacts, lack of popularity of foie gras, or environmental impacts of foie gras) on willingness to vote for a ban. Finally, we will develop messaging tailored for media, social media, flyers, and yard signs based on the focus groups and experiments and distribute these to restaurants, schools, and via key influencers to enhance impact. Budget: $7000; $5000 for one contractor working 100 hours at $50/hour; $2000 for payment for focus group/survey participants Timeline: Completion of data collection and analysis, report produced by Summer 2026