Animal rights activists gathered outside of a South Bend restaurant Sunday evening, April 26, to protest a controversial food item offered on the menu.

Foie gras is the fattened liver of a duck or goose, commonly served as a pate or mousse.

The dish is controversial because the animal is force-fed corn multiple times a day to fatten the liver, which some people believe is cruel.

Foie gras appears on the menu at Cafe Navarre in downtown South Bend twice. The small plate is served with foie gras and chicken liver mousse served with brioche, frisee, apple jam and aged balsamic. It’s also served as a butter with Cafe Navarre’s filet mignon entree.

“Foie gras is an extremely cruel product. It involves force-feeding ducks using a metal tube three to four times to enlarge their livers to 10 times their natural size,” Rama Ganesan of Animal Liberation Michiana told 95.3 MNC’s news partners, ABC 57.

ABC 57 spoke with Cafe Navarre owner Kurt Janowsky, who told them the animals don’t suffer or experience pain through the force-feeding process. He also said foie gras will remain on the menu as long as there is a demand for it.