WHAT IF IT'S ALL A BIG FAT LIVER?

California's Senate President Pro Tem John Burton is preparing a bill that would prohibit the production and sale of foie gras. Burton's bill would ban the method of feeding the birds with a pipe, connected to an overhead funnel, that is inserted down the birds' throats to pump in food. Standard practice in the industry, the method usually lasts for the two weeks before the bird is slaughtered. "I mean, would you like somebody cramming food down your throat?" Burton, D-San Francisco, said Tuesday. "We're checking it out." Burton doesn't believe the practice is necessary. "It seems kind of ... weird, you know?" Burton said.