You’ve heard of the butterfly effect, right? It’s the idea that small, seemingly insignificant events can have larger, unexpected consequences later on. This Thanksgiving, let’s change the name to “the turkey effect,” because every time that a fork touches turkey flesh, a chain reaction of larger, deadlier effects is set into motion. Don’t believe us? Here are some of the grave mistakes that people make when cooking turkey instead of compassionate vegan meals:
They contribute to mass slaughter.
Three hundred million turkeys are killed for their flesh every year.
They support the killing of intelligent birds.
Turkeys are smart. The Atlantic article “Consider the Turkey” reports that researchers “have found that when an individual turkey is removed from his flock, even in domesticity, he’ll squawk in obvious protest until reunited with his posse.”
They help to spread pandemic diseases.
The pathogenic avian influenza is often detected on farms. Experts are concerned that, over the years, bird flu strains have increased in number and that one deadly strain could even mutate into a pandemic form and be passed between humans.
They’re playing a role in the destruction of the environment.
Turkeys and other animals raised for food in the U.S. produce far more excrement than the entire U.S. human population, roughly 89,000 pounds per second, all without the benefit of waste-treatment systems. There are no meaningful federal guidelines to regulate how farms treat, store, and dispose of the trillions of pounds of concentrated animal excrement that they produce each year. Learn more regarding how farming damages the environment.
They choose cruelty instead of kindness.
They’re misinformed about turkeys.
For the record, turkeys don’t drown while looking at the sky when it rains. That’s just a myth. Make like Paul McCartney and celebrate life this holiday season! (Get your shirt here.)
Have an impulse to go vegan but haven’t taken the plunge yet? There’s no better time than now to do it. Order our free vegan starter kit today: