A controversial ban on foie gras[1] remains in effect in California today after an appeals court upheld a lower-court's decision not to block the law.


The appeal, led by Hudson Valley Foie Gras LLC and an association of Canadian foie gras producers who import their products to the U.S., charged that the ban interfered with interstate and foreign commerce and that it is too vague. A three-judge panel disagreed and sent the case back to a federal judge in L.A.[2] , BloombergBusinessweek reported.


However, the ban remains largely unenforced in California. Many restaurants take advantage of loopholes[3] in the law, which allows an eatery to serve foie gras so long as it doesn't charge a price for it.


Frustrated animal advocacy groups like PETA have since taken to targeting individual restaurants and chefs they know to serve foie gras and threatening legal action[4] .



Also on HuffPost:




Loading Slideshow...



  • Feedlot Cattle


    There's a reason feedlot beef was included in the Center for Science and Public Interest's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/14/the-terrible-10-worst-aspects_n_1010696.html#s408669&title=Feedlot_Beef" target="_hplink">"Terrible 10."</a> Raising animals for industrial slaughter can be harmful to the environment (pollution from methane gas), the animals (often raised in tight conditions) and humans (risks of E. coli).




  • Factory-Farmed Chicken


    Large-scale chicken farms are often just as frightening as beef. If you haven't seen <em><a href="http://www.foodincmovie.com/" target="_hplink">Food, Inc.</a></em> the film remains just a relevant, if not more, since it debuted several years ago.




  • Bluefin Tuna


    Bluefin tuna is probably the most widely-cited example of overfishing. The fish are caught are<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/18/atlantic-bluefin-tuna-twice-quota_n_1017314.html" target="_hplink"> way above</a> the quota with <a href="http://bittman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/more-about-disappearing-fish/" target="_hplink">little evidence of recovery</a> for the stock.




  • Shark Fin


    California seems to be on a bit of a food ban spree recently, but we commend the move to ban the sale of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/shark-fin-trade-banned-california_n_1000906.html" target="_hplink">shark fin</a>, used in a popular Chinese soup. "The practice of cutting the fins off of living sharks and dumping them back in the ocean is not only cruel, but it harms the health of our oceans," said governor Jerry Brown.




  • Palm Oil


    The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/girl-scouts-cookies-palm-oil-campaign_n_998437.html" target="_hplink">Girl Scouts may have recently pledged to reduce the amount of palm oil</a> in their famous cookies, but that is only one drop in the bucket. Non-sustainably-sourced palm oil destroys rainforests, and threatens the habitats of animals that live there.




  • Chocolate/Coffee From Child Slavery Regions


    GOOD didn't beat around the bush with its recent post, "<a href="http://www.good.is/post/child-slaves-made-your-halloween-candy-stop-buying-it/" target="_hplink">Child Slaves Made Your Halloween Candy. Stop Buying It</a>." Makes you think twice about stocking up on all those Reese's.




  • Farmed Salmon


    Farmed salmon just doesn't sound appetizing anymore thanks to the prevalence of sea lice and various diseases that can affect farmed salmon. To make matters worse, such infestations are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/science/18salmon.html?_r=2&src=tp" target="_hplink">now affecting wild salmon</a> as well.




  • Junk Food Marketed At Children


    There's nothing wrong with allowing children the occasional bag of Cheetos. But given the staggering level of obesity in American children, it seems ridiculous to be marketing these products directly at children. Of course, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donald-cohen/marketing-junk-food-to-kids_b_999376.html" target="_hplink">marketers see otherwise</a>.