industry overview

Foie gras – the fattened liver of ducks (and historically geese) produced via force-feeding (gavage) – is a tiny niche of American agriculture. Only a handful of farms in the United States produce foie gras, and the industry here is minuscule compared to its French and European counterparts. As of 2025, there are only three to four active foie gras farms in the U.S., all small operations, plus a few historical producers that have since closed. In total, U.S. farms produce only a few hundred tons of foie gras per year – less than 1% of global foie gras output[1]. (For perspective, France alone produces well over 14,000 tons annually[1] and accounts for ~64% of world production as of 2020.) U.S. foie gras farms collectively raise on the order of 400,000–450,000 ducks per year for foie gras[2], versus tens of millions of birds in France and other countries[3][4]. Economic Footprint: The U.S. foie gras sector is estimated in the tens of millions of dollars of revenue – a drop in the bucket of the national poultry industry. For example, one major distributor (D’Artagnan, which supplies foie gras and other specialty meats) reported that foie gras accounted for about 18% of its $140 million annual sales (i.e. roughly $25 million)[5]. The two largest American foie gras farms (both in New York) employ roughly 400–500 workers combined[6][7]. Much of the product is sold to high-end restaurants in foodie markets like New York City, Chicago, Las Vegas, and San Francisco, as well as via gourmet retailers. Indeed, New York City alone has historically accounted for about one-third of U.S. foie gras sales for the New York farms[5][8]. With California and New York City both enacting foie gras bans in recent years (details below), American producers have faced significant revenue hits – after California’s ban took effect, national foie gras shipments fell by ~15%[9]. Distribution: Because of the small scale, U.S. foie gras production is fairly centralized. There are two large farms in Sullivan County, New York (in the Hudson Valley region) and a couple of much smaller artisanal farms (one in Minnesota and one in Louisiana). These farms typically slaughter ducks for foie gras and also sell the whole duck (breasts or “magret”, legs for confit, rendered duck fat, etc.). Distributors like D’Artagnan (founded in 1984 specifically to bring fresh foie gras to the U.S. market[10][11]) play a key role in getting the product to restaurants nationwide. American foie gras is also available via mail order from the farms and specialty food websites. Notably, exports of U.S.-produced foie gras are minimal – the American output is mostly consumed domestically (and the U.S. itself also imports some foie gras products from France, Canada, and elsewhere). Global Context: By global standards, U.S. foie gras is a blip. In 2014 the U.S. produced only ~250 tons of foie gras (under 1% of world production)[12]. France, Hungary, Bulgaria, and parts of the EU dominate production and have deeply entrenched foie gras culinary traditions. In France foie gras is even protected as part of the “gastronomical heritage” of the country, and about 30,000 people work in that industry[13]. By contrast, foie gras farming in the U.S. began only in the 1980s and has never been widely adopted. All U.S. producers use ducks (usually Moulard ducks), not geese, for foie gras – in line with modern global practice (95%+ of foie gras worldwide now comes from ducks)[14][15]. Moulard ducks (a Muscovy–Pekin hybrid) are preferred for their large liver and ease of handling (they are mute, flightless, and naturally lack a gag reflex)[14][16]. Female ducklings, which don’t develop livers as large as males, are typically not used for foie gras; at least one U.S. farm ships surplus female ducklings overseas to be raised for meat instead[17][18]. Legislative and Legal Challenges: Foie gras is highly controversial in the U.S. due to animal welfare concerns, and this has led to multiple legal battles. Force-feeding birds is outlawed in some jurisdictions – most prominently California, which passed a ban in 2004 (effective 2012) on both the production and sale of foie gras made from force-fed birds[19]. California’s ban survived years of court challenges and is currently in force (after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn it in 2019)[20]. Chicago famously enacted a citywide ban on foie gras in 2006, only to repeal it two years later after much ridicule (Mayor Daley dubbed it the “silliest law”)[20]. In 2019, New York City – one of the world’s biggest foie gras markets – passed a law to ban the sale of foie gras starting in 2022. The NYC ban has been fiercely fought by producers and is currently tied up in litigation: New York State’s agriculture department issued an injunction in late 2022, siding with farmers who argued the city exceeded its authority[21]. As of 2024, the NYC foie gras ban was stayed on procedural grounds[21], allowing sales to continue pending further court review. In addition, smaller jurisdictions are following suit (for example, in 2025 the town of Brookline, MA became the first in Massachusetts to ban foie gras sales[22]). The foie gras industry’s response to these challenges has largely been through legal action rather than public relations – for instance, the New York farms formed the “Catskill Foie Gras Collective” (along with a French supplier) to sue New York City[23], arguing procedural and state-law grounds to overturn the ban. Producers contend that their practices are humane and that bans will “decimate” local farm economies[24][6], whereas animal welfare groups argue that force-feeding is intrinsically cruel. This debate remains intense. Polls in NYC showed strong public support (over 80%) for banning force-fed foie gras[25], yet the producers have so far managed to delay or prevent some bans through the courts[21]. In summary, American foie gras farming persists as a small but controversial niche, concentrated in just a few locations. Below, we profile all the notable U.S. foie gras farms – past and present – with details on their location, status, output, ownership, history, and any legal or animal-welfare issues associated with each.