Force-Feeding Stopped

CA Foie Gras Ban Takes Effect
By Doris Lin, About.com Guide July 5, 2012
http://animalrights.about.com/b/2012/07/05/ca-foie-gras-ban-takes-effect.htm
The force feeding machine rolls up and down the aisles between rows of caged ducks.
Photo courtesy of Farm Sanctuary

California's foie gras ban that was signed into law in 2004 took effect on July 1, 2012. Foie gras is the fattened liver of a duck or goose, and is considered one of the cruelest factory farming practices. The liver is ten times its normal size as a result of force-feeding the birds through a metal tube shoved into their throats. The law prohibits force-feeding birds for the purpose of enlarging the bird's liver, and prohibits selling the products that result from force-feeding. Because the only way to produce such an unnatural product is through force-feeding, the sale and production of foie gras is effectively banned.
CA is the first state in the U.S. to ban foie gras, but a 2006 ban in Chicago was in effect for two years before it was overturned. Israel, South Africa and several European nations have banned the force-feeding of animals for food production.
Some people have reacted as you might expect - by violating the statute and by filing a lawsuit to try to have the ban overturned.
The animal rights position is that veganism is the solution because any animal use violates that animal's rights. While some farming practices may be more cruel than others, there is no such thing as humane animal agriculture.