Besides a proposed ban on shark fin soup, California is also set to prohibit another exotic food — foie gras, or duck liver.

This month, July 2012, duck liver cannot be served throughout the state if the duck was force fed, which is the method used by duck raisers for the liver to become fatty.

California became the first state to ban foie gras, in 2004, but the law will not take effect until the middle of next year. Then-Gov.

Arnold Schwarzengger signed the legislation into law, which not only bans force feeding of ducks but also prohibits selling of foie gras produced that way. The fine for violators could reach up to $1,000 a day.

The eight-year gap between the passage of the law and its implementation gave liver duck producers time to find alternative ways to force feed the animal, but none was found.

Forced feeding involves inserting a tube in the duck's esophagus, which animal rights groups have denounced as an inhumane practice.

However, food experts defended the method because it only imitates behavior of wild ducks that gorge themselves before embarking on a long flight. They added that the method does not cause pain to the duck and accused the animal rights groups that pushed for the ban of imposing their vegetarian values on the rest of Californians.

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