Ducks of the World, Unite!

Under cover of darkness, a band of environmental activists last week went straight for the gourmet table. They raided a foie gras farm near Stockton, Calif., and "rescued" four ducks whose livers were headed for posh restaurants. The operation was not a total success; one duck died during the raid. But the effort, the fourth attack against the foie gras business in California since July, represents the latest campaign by animal-rights activists. The expensive delicacy is produced in the U.S. only in California and in New York's Hudson Valley.

The technique is to force-feed ducks with cornmeal through a tube put down their throats several times a day, causing their livers to enlarge. Guillermo Gonzalez, owner of the Stockton foie gras farm, says the procedure doesn't harm the birds, whose livers are enlarged naturally in the wild before they migrate. Counters Sarahjane Blum, a spokeswoman for GourmetCruelty.com: "If this were being done to dogs or cats, the producers would without a doubt be in prison for animal cruelty." Anyone for caviar?