Kudos to Penn State's Alliance for Animal Rights (AAR) for calling attention to the mistreatment of ducks and geese raised for foie gras ("Group protests to remove delicacy from menu," Mon., Dec. 6). Indeed, decent people everywhere agree that there is nothing refined about eating the grossly fattened liver of a tortured bird, and those so-called gourmands who whine about the "right" to consume foie gras should be ashamed. In order to make this cruelty-laden pâté, ducks and geese have their bills pried open and a plastic tube is shoved down their throats up to three times daily. Several pounds of feed are forced into each bird's stomach, causing their livers to swell up to 10 times the normal size. This process is so traumatic that the mortality rate on foie gras farms is 20 times higher than on other duck farms. Ethical concerns have prompted over 10 countries as well as the state of California to ban foie gras production. Foie gras is not a delicacy -- it's a disease that represents human callousness at its worst. See for yourself by visiting GourmetCruelty.com.