What is foie gras?

Thanks to both Valerie and Vivienne who suggested to me that this post might be necessary. So here goes. I'm sourcing this information from Wikipedia. The link will be at the end of the post for further reading.

Foie gras (pronounced 'fwa grah' and is French for "fat liver") is made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. In France, this fattening is typically achieved through gavage (force-feeding) corn, though outside of France it is occasionally produced using natural feeding. 

Foie gras is a popular and well-known delicacy in French cuisine. Its flavour is described as rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike that of an ordinary duck or goose liver. Foie gras is sold whole, or is prepared into mousse, parfait, or pâté (the lowest quality), and may also be served as an accompaniment to another food item, such as steak. French law states that "Foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France."

Gavage-based foie gras production is controversial due to the force feeding procedure used. A number of countries and other jurisdictions have laws against force feeding or the sale of foie gras.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foie_gras

We have friends here in Toulouse who are going to take us to visit a duck farm in the Gers region that is run by their friends, so that we can see how the ducks are fed. Apparently the force-feeding can be done in a quite humane way I'm told, so I'll write about that later.