I’m planning, as I’m sure you are, a fabulous Thanksgiving this year with my husband, daughter, and son-in-law (who, by the way, will be a stilt-walker in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade). Today a message came from Mary Max, a devoted advocate for mitigating cruelty in the world and the wife of the wonderful artist, Peter Max. I’m using her message as a guest blog today, and plenty of food for thought. (The lovely lady pictured here, by the way, is Olive, a rescued turkey who lives at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York, and would love to have you as her sponsor.) Below, from Mary Max:
“I’d also like to take this opportunity to gently encourage those of you who are planning to eat a traditional holiday meal to reconsider and instead extend your compassion to the 46 million turkeys who are cruelly raised and slaughtered just for this day by choosing to celebrate with a vegetarianThanksgiving (that can still be really fun and delicious!). After all, how can we sincerely honor the themes of Thanksgiving (i.e. peace and gratitude) with a slaughtered sentient being in the middle of the table (http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_turkeys_farms.asp)?
“For scrumptious recipes, please visit:
http://www.vegcooking.com/f-thanks05.asp
http://vegweb.com/thanksgiving/ or
http://www.adoptaturkey.org/aat/recipes/
“And for those of you who think (like I used to) that “free-range” turkeys are not cruelly raised, please visit http://www.free-range-turkey.com/.
“Finally, here’s a little poem from an animal’s point of view:
’Thanksgiving dinner’s sad and thankless
Christmas dinner’s dark and blue
When you stop and try to see it
From the turkey’s point of view.
Sunday dinner isn’t sunny
Easter feasts are just bad luck
When you see it from the viewpoint
Of a chicken or a duck.
Oh how I once loved tuna salad
Pork and lobsters, lamb chops too
Till I stopped and looked at dinner
From the dinner’s point of view.’
From Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
posted November 12, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Oh for heaven’s sake give me a break and take me off your email list. We raised turkeys and they were not treated badly. Most of us still enjoy meat. I have nothing against being a vegetarian, but to outright lie about how animals are treated is too much.
posted November 12, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I agree with looking at it from the dinner’s point of view! Thus I do not eat animals!
posted November 12, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Corrine – You are correct. Not all animals raised for food are treated poorly. However, nearly 99% of the meat we consume in the U.S. is from factory farms. Furthermore, Americans consume about 200 pounds of meat per year. The less meat we consume, the better it is for the animals. The better it is for the planet. The better it is for our health. Don’t you think?
posted November 12, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Right on, Victoria! I’ve always thought the best parts of the dinner were the side dishes anyway (cranberry sauce, squash, stuffing, etc.). And, now, there are so many vegetarian options for “turkey,” too. There really is no good reason to serve cruelty on Thanksgiving.
posted November 12, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Ryan, not sure where your 99% statistic comes from. But, regardless, a factory farm is not a dirty word. Animals raised on large facilities are given fresh water, regular meals and a roof over their heads. If a farmer/rancher mistreats their animals, they do not produce for him. They need regular care to put on weight or produce eggs, milk, etc. These animals are not exposed to extreme weather, hunger or thirst. Again, if you want to only eat vegetables, fine. But I will enjoy my turkey. I do believe I still have that freedom.
posted November 13, 2009 at 6:27 am
Hi, Corrine — If you’d like, I can take you off my email list. To do that, please send your email address to Monica, charmedassistant@aol.com, and ask to be removed. I have no way of taking you off the Beliefnet subscription list, but you can do that yourself by clicking on the “Subscribe” button on this page. As for the turkey situation, you certainly know how things are done on your family’s farm; the places I’ve seen, both in person and on video, are far different. I know this is an area of controversy and will be for years to come. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. — Victoria
posted November 13, 2009 at 7:53 am
I wish it were true that animals were treated as kindly as Corrine describes and I know there are some farms where they do that. But the majority of the time, this is not the case. A roof over their head and food/water is not enough. Science continues to produce evidence that animals are intelligent, sentient beings.
Thanks for this post! I look forward to a cruelty free Thanksgiving!
posted November 14, 2009 at 3:31 pm
This will be my 33rd cruelty-free Thanksgiving. In addition, I have to be gluten-free, but I still have plenty of delicious, nutritious food to eat. I much prefer celebrating the spirit of the day without a large slaughtered bird in the middle of the table! Turkeys are intelligent, sentient beings. At a local farm sanctuary, two rescued turkeys greet and interact with visitors. They’re wonderful ambassadors of goodwill for all species.