Most likely, wherever you sat down for your Thanksgiving meal last week, you probably saw a turkey on the table, and if you’re not a vegan or vegetarian chances are you probably ate that turkey. The holiday season is an unfortunate time for turkeys, the environment and even your health.
Each year around this time, nearly 72 million turkeys are killed for traditional holiday meals. In 2008 PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) conducted a thorough undercover investigation on a factory farm that exposed some very disturbing facts. PETA investigators found that turkeys were being tortured and inhumanely killed. According to the organization, employees at the factory farm would stomp on turkey’s heads among other things. I won’t go into too much graphic detail on the rest of the report because it’s quite disturbing.
A majority of the turkeys most people eat are from these types of factory farms. Turkeys raised on factory farms live in crowded warehouses with barely any room to move. Pollutants from these farms reach ground water and cause water pollution, air quality goes down and local farms are threatened. Most factory farms will genetically alter animals in order for them to grow twice as fast — this leads to a painful, short life. Genetically altered foods are not safe to eat as the health consequences are still being studied.
Because of ethical and health reasons, some people have decided to ditch turkey this holiday season for a vegetarian or vegan meal. To keep everyone happy, there are a lot of ways you can stick to a traditional meal without harming any animals. Instead of using meat-based broth in your holiday stuffing, try a vegetable broth. Vegan turkeys, known as tofurkeys, can be found at grocery stores and are actually pretty tasty.
If you just can’t live without the turkey, then try getting a free-range turkey. Free-range animals in general are much healthier and live in an area where they are free to roam. According to the USDA, in the United States, free-range regulations do not specify the quality or size of the outside range so sometimes the term “free-range” is not what it seems to be. To make sure your turkey had a happy life, I would suggest going to a local farm to see exactly how the animals are raised. Forks Farm, located in Orangeville, is a great place to purchase chicken and turkey that has been raised outside in the fresh air and sunshine. If you’re serious, make sure to place your order in advance as they sell out fast.
For more information on Forks Farm, visit www.forksfarmmarket.com. To purchase a tofurkey for your next holiday meal, visit www.tofurky.com,
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