brains, diminishing their ability to heal after head trauma.
Though rats are not people, brain injury is a fairly organic
condition that is easily replicable in animals—unlike, say, a
complex human disease that rats and mice do not naturally
develop.
Human Foie Gras
Fructose, and sugar consumption in general, is a major
contributor to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD.
Currently affecting seventy million adults in the United
States (30 percent of the population), rates of NAFLD are
expected to explode in the coming years unless we can do
something about our collective sweet tooth. By the year
2030, it is estimated that 50 percent of the US population
will have NAFLD—and insulin resistance, a problem
affecting a staggering number of people worldwide, is
directly proportional to the severity of the disease. But we’re
not the only animals experiencing an epidemic of fatty
livers.
Similar to humans but on a much larger scale, ducks and
geese are able to store a massive surplus of calories in their
livers in the form of fat. This is an adaptation that allows
them to fly long distances without stopping for food, and it
is exploited to create foie gras, a French delicacy that is
enjoyed by many around the world.
Foie gras is a well-fattened duck or goose liver and is
revered for its rich, buttery texture—something this type of
liver is not typically known for. To make it, tubes are