At this restaurant in California, foodies prepare to bid adieu to a French delicacy.<br/> <br />They are having one last taste of foie-gras - made from the livers of ducks and geese - just hours before a state-wide ban on the food comes into effect.<br/> <br />Many here are lamenting the ban, which comes after years of pressure from animal rights activists.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) CLAUD BELTRAN, CHEF OF NOIR FOOD AND WINE, SAYING:<br/> <br />"It's just a very rich, amazing product that, I don't think there's anything to duplicate what the flavor is."<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) CREIGHTON TURNER, FOIE GRAS AFICIONADO, SAYING:<br/> <br />"Well, I think it's a terrible thing. I think foie gras is one of the real culinary treats that civilization has created and I don't think that the method of feeding ducks is particularly inhumane."<br/> <br />Animal rights activists have long disagreed.<br/> <br />Foie gras is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese with a tube to enlarge their livers.<br/> <br />State lawmakers banned the process in 2004 - but they gave afficionados a seven-year grace period.<br/> <br />Activists say the ban is long overdue.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) BRYAN PEASE, CO-FOUNDER OF ANIMAL PROTECTION AND RESCUE LEAGUE, SAYING:<br/> <br />"Foie gras is a barbaric product, it never should have existed, it certainly should not exist now in 2012. It's made by cruelly force-feeding ducks to enlarge their livers and there's no justification for it."<br/> <br />The ban came into effect on Sunday.<br/> <br />Andrew Raven, Reuters
