‘True American Original’ Murdered
Do you like to listen to music, sing, and be affectionate? So do turkeys. Do you exercise, worry about your appearance, and sometimes play favorites with people? So do turkeys. If you have children, do you love them and fiercely protect them from danger? So do turkeys.
But unlike us, turkeys raised for food will never get to do any of these things. These sensitive birds, whom Ben Franklin deemed “true American originals,” will be crammed inside crowded, windowless sheds and bred to grow so fat that many become crippled or die of heart attacks. Most will have parts of their beaks or toes cut off without pain relief. At five or six months old, they will be thrown into a truck and driven through all weather extremes to the slaughterhouse. There, they will be slammed upside down into shackles and dragged through a “stunning” bath to immobilize them (but not necessarily render them unconscious) before their throats are cut. Some birds are still conscious when they are dunked in hot defeathering tanks and are scalded to death.
Do you wish this wasn’t the case? So do turkeys. Let World Week for the Abolition of Meat inspire you to make every day “Turkey Day” by leaving these birds off your plate.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
