Thanksgiving, a day to give thanks and gather with family and friends, is on people’s minds these days. Many, no doubt, will focus on the upcoming annual feast and their favorite trimmings. It is a tradition that is passed on to younger generations as well as newcomers.
While the intent of gathering with loved ones with a traditional feast is a great way to celebrate, it’s ironic that many people will do so by killing an innocent animal — the turkey. Did anyone bother to ask the victim if she wanted to die for us so she can be the table centerpiece? An odd way to show gratitude, don’t you think?
Today’s turkeys are forcibly inseminated by having their legs clamped into metal forceps; in humans, it is called rape. It is a myth that animals feel less pain somehow than humans; and no, God did not create animals for us to eat. In Genesis, it’s called the Garden of Eden, not the Factory Farm or Slaughterhouse of Eden.
Humans have genetically bred turkeys to grow breasts so large that they suffer leg and joint problems and most cannot stand or walk. They are debeaked at birth without painkillers, a procedure akin to cutting off our lips or fingers. The tips of their toes including the toe nails are also cut off without anesthesia, as well as their snoods. They experience pain in their beaks, heads, and faces. They then languish in crowded conditions and commercial turkeys are routinely given antibiotics and hormones to survive the filth.
At 15 weeks, the deformed and disproportionate turkeys are grabbed roughly by workers and stuffed into the transport truck. Some may suffer broken limbs — that’s where the utility grade comes in. At the slaughterhouse, they are shackled upside down in preparation for the stun bath. They flap in terror, and because their skeleton cannot support their abnormally heavy breasts, some may lose a leg or a wing. Some may not be properly stunned, and fall into the scalding hot water before their throats are slit — an all too common scenario. Imagine for a second if this were your dog or cat — they all feel pain and suffering the same way, just like us.
It is unbecoming for the human species to express gratitude by subjecting our fellow creatures with whom we share our planet to such a barbaric existence and death, simply for palate pleasure and traditional centerpieces. No matter how we try to cover up the depravity of this practice, our souls will not be fooled.
Why not leave behind this violent practice by trying one of the plant-based faux turkey roasts, by Gardein, Field Roast, or Tofurky, readily available at grocers or Nature’s Fare? Your body will be healthier for it, and most importantly to the turkey, she will be grateful.
The Langley Herbivores is having our Compassionate Thanksgiving Potluck this Saturday, from 1 – 3 p.m., at St. Joachim and Ann Catholic Church in Aldergrove. If you wish to participate, please email me at: pattallman@shaw.ca
— Patricia Tallman, Langley Herbivores