Last week, the Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs Committee passed Senate Bill 2170, which would prohibit the distribution and sale of foie gras produced by force-feeding ducks and geese. The committee proposes to enforce the ban by July 1, 2010. The Judiciary Committee will now consider the bill, and if approved and signed into law, violators will be fined $10,000. Only two US companies produce the French delicacy, one in New York and one in California. Beginning in 2012, California will implement a force-feeding ban that requires the state’s sole foie gras farm to develop more humane production methods.