A Compassionate Thanksgiving Dinner: It's Easy and Delicious!

Many people equate vegetarianism with deprivation of their favorite foods, the foods they think they need to feel satiated and healthy. That’s because we have been told all our lives that eating animals and animal products is not only good, but necessary. There is no time of year that this becomes more evident than during the holidays. Thanksgiving represents a time of joy and celebration marked by great feasting. Some of our warmest childhood memories are recalled by the tastes and smells of the holiday table.  

But what we fail to stop and think about is the enormous suffering experienced by the animals who end up as the centerpiece of our holiday feast.  So perhaps we can take a few minutes to consider what happens to turkeys before they get to your Thanksgiving dinner plate.

To satisfy the American palate, more than 250 million turkeys are killed each year.
With selective breeding and growth-promoting drugs, turkeys grow far faster than they naturally would. Such rapid growth causes turkeys to suffer from many chronic health conditions including skeletal disorders and heart disease.

editor rob kall here. I couldn't resist uploading his pic of a wild turkey who visited us in our backyard. Kinda takes the appetite for drumsticks away. He was friendly and trusting... what a turkey, trusting humans. Hmm. so that's where the insult comes from.

The good news is, I took the pic last year and this year, we were just visited by 5 young turkeys and an older one, maybe the same one. 

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