Writing Tips for Letters to the Editor

Keep your letter short. Check papers to see if there is a word limit. Otherwise, try and keep letters at 200 to 250 words. The shorter the letter, the better chance it has of being published. Also, limit the number of points you make in your letter. Instead of listing all the reasons why foie gras is cruel, focus on one or two main points.

Keep your letter polite.

Include your full name, address, and email address. Some papers also request that you include your home and/or work or cell phone numbers.

Do not send an attachment. Newspapers will not accept email attachments. Paste the text of your letter into your email message.

Proofread. Use spell check and make sure that you or a friend checks the letter for mistakes before sending. Printing the letter on paper is a great way to check for any errors.

Some points to consider when writing letters about foie gras:

• Every year in the United States almost half a million ducks are tortured and slaughtered for their livers. Just two companies are responsible for all of this suffering—Hudson Valley Foie Gras in New York and Sonoma Foie Gras in California.
• Birds raised for foie gras are force-fed enormous quantities of food through a long metal pipe three times a day. This process of deliberate and painful overfeeding continues for up to a month, by which time the birds’ livers have swelled up to twelve times their healthy size.
• Ducks sometimes literally burst open because of overfeeding, and many choke to death on their own vomit.
• Ducks raised for foie gras have difficulty standing, walking, and even breathing. Birds who do survive the overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and repeated trauma of forced-feeding, are slaughtered at barely four months. The mortality rate for ducks raised on foie gras farms is among the highest in the farming industry, and it is up to twenty times the average rate on other duck factory farms.
• At a very young age, the ducks are put into crowded pens in filthy sheds. The floors are covered with feces and vomit. The ducks have no access to the outdoors, sunlight, or to water. Often times, rats run freely throughout the pens, sometimes even eating ducks alive.
• Foie gras has been banned in many countries, and at least fourteen countries have laws that include language prohibiting the force-feeding of birds for foie gras. Foie gras has also been banned in California, and efforts are underway to ban it in other states.

Other Letter Writing Ideas

Write Oprah Winfrey a Letter about Foie Gras

This past May, Oprah threw an extravagant ball for her friends as a tribute to African-American women. While her compassion for humans is commendable, her compassion for animals is lacking. Oprah served foie gras brûlée to her guests, and the event was featured in the August 2005 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Oprah stated: “What I know for sure is that when the foie gras brûlée was first presented that Saturday in March, I thought I was going to cry, it was so delicious.”

Let Oprah know about the cruelty that goes into producing foie gras. Please send a polite letter or email to Oprah Winfrey, asking her to promote compassion and caring for everyone, including the factory-farmed ducks used for foie gras.

Oprah Winfrey
P.O. Box 909715
Chicago, IL 60690-9715