After a sustained year-long campaign by The Duck Alliance, Omni Hotels & Resorts has confirmed it will permanently cease offering foie gras across all its properties. This decision comes on the heels of more than 200 protests staged in 28 US and Canadian cities, targeting 33 Omni locations as well as the company’s headquarters in Dallas, TX.
In an email, the hotel chain stated, “Omni no longer sells foie gras and has no plans to ever do so again. Foie gras is not on any Omni menus, including wedding and event menus.”
Foie gras production—by convention—relies on force-feeding ducks or geese until their livers expand up to 10 times their natural size. Birds are commonly confined in cages where they cannot even turn around, and each must endure a tube forcibly inserted into its throat to deliver excess feed. The practice is widely condemned by veterinarians and animal welfare experts, and it has been outlawed in more than a dozen nations, as well as in the state of California. Major hotel groups and retailers globally have also moved away from it.
‘A clear message’
The Duck Alliance hailed Omni’s commitment as a landmark victory. “Omni’s decision sends a clear message: cruelty has no place in luxury,” said Thomas Gorman, executive director for The Duck Alliance. “This victory shows what persistent grassroots pressure can achieve and it should be a wake-up call to other hotel chains still profiting from animal abuse.”
Omni Hotels & Resorts
The campaign against Omni intensified significantly following a near-violent encounter during a protest at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, LA on Christmas Eve 2024. According to reports and video footage, a gunman attacked two demonstrators in the lobby and pointed a semi-automatic firearm at their chests.The footage circulated widely, highlighting the risks activists faced.
Omni’s announcement joins a wave of similar corporate shifts over the past year. For example, Texas-based restaurant group Hai Hospitality removed foie gras from all its Asian fusion menus after sustained activist pressure and more than 40,000 emails from supporters. In the retail sector, Wild Fork Foods—owned by JBS—announced in mid-August 2025 that it would permanently discontinue foie gras across all of its more than 60 locations in North America.
Omni Hotels & Resorts
These actions underscore a growing trend: companies under public scrutiny are responding by phasing out foie gras from their offerings. The retail and hospitality sectors’ pivot away from the product bolsters the momentum for reform.
Still, challenges persist. Though California has banned the production and sale of foie gras via Senate Bill 1520, which took effect in 2012, enforcement has been uneven. A recent Los Angeles Times report found that foie gras continued to appear on shelves in Southern California, likely due to gaps in local enforcement.
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In the broader context, the foie gras industry continues to fight to maintain its market through legal maneuvers and lobbying. According to ProAnimal, when cities like New York and Chicago pursued bans, the industry responded by mounting court challenges and exploiting procedural loopholes rather than defending force-feeding in public discourse.
Advocacy groups see Omni’s decision as a litmus test for other major hotel chains. Given Omni’s luxury positioning, supporters believe this move undermines the notion that foie gras is essential to high-end dining. Those still serving it now face renewed pressure, especially as guests increasingly expect cruelty-free options in hospitality settings.
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