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COLUMN: Try to think of the turkeys on Turkey Day
Angelica Brown
Issue date: 11/25/08 Section: Perspectives
You may want to think twice before taking a bite of that turkey this Thanksgiving and Christmas. In fact, maybe you should reconsider not only eating the turkey, but all of the other animals that you will ingest that have been slaughtered just for you to continue a ritualistic idea of what the typical Thanksgiving holiday feast should consist of.
On Thanksgiving alone, 45 million turkeys are killed just to fulfill a ceremonial conceptualized image of an ordinary dinner; and on Christmas, over 20 million are killed and eaten. If 20-45 million people were to die in the United States on a particular day of the year, this would raise national awareness. However, because of the fact that a turkey is an animal, this fact goes relatively unknown.
I, for one, cannot take it anymore. Not only is the murder of turkeys for a one-day event wrong, but also the murder of several other thought-to-be-edible animals year-round. If people were more informed about the horrors of meat processing, I propose that numerous people would take a stance similar to mine and look at holidays like this that exploit the mass murder of animals in disgust, as opposed to a celebration.
Thanksgiving signifies a day that we are supposed to be joyful and grateful for things we have and the people around us. How, I wonder, can we be happy when we are looking at animal carcasses on our dinner tables?
We have taken the life of various animals to satisfy our carnivorous wants for one day and have not even considered what we have done in order to traditionally celebrate this day. Most of the turkeys that are ingested have spent all their lives in factory farms and have almost no federal legal protection from cruelty.
When parts of the turkeys' toes and beaks are cut off, the animal is usually subjected to this without pain relievers. I would equate this with a dentist pulling out a wisdom tooth without offering any medication before, during, or afterward. It is unjust and borderline sadistic. Just because an animal is not as functional as a human being, it does not mean that they should be treated with less respect.
On Thanksgiving alone, 45 million turkeys are killed just to fulfill a ceremonial conceptualized image of an ordinary dinner; and on Christmas, over 20 million are killed and eaten. If 20-45 million people were to die in the United States on a particular day of the year, this would raise national awareness. However, because of the fact that a turkey is an animal, this fact goes relatively unknown.
I, for one, cannot take it anymore. Not only is the murder of turkeys for a one-day event wrong, but also the murder of several other thought-to-be-edible animals year-round. If people were more informed about the horrors of meat processing, I propose that numerous people would take a stance similar to mine and look at holidays like this that exploit the mass murder of animals in disgust, as opposed to a celebration.
Thanksgiving signifies a day that we are supposed to be joyful and grateful for things we have and the people around us. How, I wonder, can we be happy when we are looking at animal carcasses on our dinner tables?
We have taken the life of various animals to satisfy our carnivorous wants for one day and have not even considered what we have done in order to traditionally celebrate this day. Most of the turkeys that are ingested have spent all their lives in factory farms and have almost no federal legal protection from cruelty.
When parts of the turkeys' toes and beaks are cut off, the animal is usually subjected to this without pain relievers. I would equate this with a dentist pulling out a wisdom tooth without offering any medication before, during, or afterward. It is unjust and borderline sadistic. Just because an animal is not as functional as a human being, it does not mean that they should be treated with less respect.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Greedy WHO?
posted 11/25/08 @ 10:26 PM EST
Angelica Brown wrote: Because of the selfishness and greed of humans, billions of animals are killed.
Eating a turkey is greedy? Eating a turkey is selfish?
You're nuts. (Continued…)
MICHEAL Ó BRAOIN
posted 11/26/08 @ 2:20 AM EST
Angelica Brown excoriates your readers for enjoying turkey and suggests that we are hypocrites for eating meat while loving our pets. This is pernicious nonsense. (Continued…)
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