Ellen DeGeneres has appeared on Jerry Seinfeld’s new season of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” In the episode, the talk show host tells the comedian that the treatment of geese in the foie gras industry is cruel.
During their conversation, Seinfeld compares Netflix’s automated transition onto the next episode of a series to “feeding a goose pâté” – referring to the forceful feeding of the animals.
This is how foie gras is produced — ducks and geese are forcibly fed in order to fatten them. They are fed 12-15 times a day until their livers expand, and then slaughtered when their livers are considered fatty enough to consume. The process is one which animal rights supporters avidly oppose, along with DeGeneres, vegan actress Evanna Lynch and comedian Ricky Gervais are among its celebrity opponents.
Responding to Seinfeld’s analogy, DeGeneres says, “It’s a horrible thing to think about.” She then goes on to explain the process, adding, “It’s the cruelest thing ever.” Seinfeld jokes that it would be crueler to feed the geese pâté, and refers to one goose eating “Nancy,” a goose who lived next to it before slaughter.
However, DeGeneres maintains the seriousness of the issue, asserting that “human beings are horrible” in their treatment of farm animals.
DeGeneres often uses her platform to speak out for the animals. Last year, the talk show host took a stand against President Trump’s plan to lift the ban on imported hunting. After announcing that she was “determined to do something,” she launched a campaign to raise money for elephant conservation. She even personally criticised the president, commenting, “Elephants show compassion, sympathy, social intelligence, self-awareness… all the things I have yet to see in this president.”
Further, in the past, the talk-show host has promoted vegan animal rights activist James Aspey, reposting his videos to her show’s Instagram, which has 52.5 million followers. In response, Aspey shared a screenshot of the repost and thanked Degeneres: “Wussup @theellenshow! This is the closest I’ve been to getting on your show 
Let’s chill and talk about veganism and animal rights sometime! Thank you so much for all the good you do for this world! 
”
The star even celebrated her 60th birthday this year with an impressive gift from her wife, Portia De Rossi, in the form of her very own gorilla conservation center.
“Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” is currently available to watch on Netflix.
Image credit: Netflix
