Here’s How PETA Is Spreading the ‘ThanksVegan’ Message—and You Can, Too
Ahead of this year’s “ThanksVegan” celebrations, PETA has been urging people across North America to choose a compassionate holiday feast.
Each year in the U.S., approximately 46 million turkeys are killed and sold for Thanksgiving. Turkeys are playful, intelligent individuals who protect their flocks and bond with humans—some turkeys who live on farm sanctuaries have even been known to choose their favorite people.
In the meat industry, turkeys are killed when they’re only 3 to 5 months old, and during their short lives they’re denied even the simplest pleasures, such as running, building nests, and raising their young. And there’s no such thing as “humanely raised” turkeys.
We’re urging people to show turkeys, pigs, cows, and all other animals respect by leaving them off their Thanksgiving table.
Here are some of the ways PETA has helped make Thanksgiving better for all animals in 2024:
These grocery stores and prepared meal companies agreed to participate in “ThanksVegan” this year in various ways: Huckleberry’s, Vallarta Supermarkets, Price Chopper, Tops Market, Market 32, and Vegan Chef Lenka.
We placed our “Please let me live. Think before you eat. Go vegan this Thanksgiving” ad on three billboards in Terre Haute, Indiana. Indiana is among the top five turkey-producing states, and the ads were placed near local grocery stores.
We also posted the same ad on a billboard in Fresno, California, near a Foster Farms turkey hatchery and the Fresno State/Foster Farms Poultry Education and Research Facility.
The same turkey ad can also be found on gas pump toppers at 14 gas stations in these top turkey-producing states: Arkansas, Iowa, and Minnesota.
We sent a letter to President Biden asking him to leave a legacy of kindness by canceling the White House Turkey Pardon, which is a humiliating stunt for the sake of greedy factory farm lobbyists.
Ahead of Thanksgiving in Canada on October 14, we placed ads on 25 benches in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that read, “Turkeys Feel Pain, Too. Don’t Have a Hand in Their Suffering. Please, Go Vegan.” The ads were located near Kid City (an indoor amusement park) and several schools and daycare centers.
We also placed a version of the ad on three digital billboards in Windsor, Ontario, since Ontario is a top turkey-producing province. PETA supporters handed out free Gardein vegan Turk’y Roasts to passersby just a stone’s throw from the sky-high messages.
In Guelph, Ontario, PETA supporters set up a table outside a local grocery store and handed out 30 Tofurky roasts to encourage people to celebrate ThanksVegan with a centerpiece that nobody had to die for. Passersby were extremely grateful, and many of them even posed for a photo with their vegan roast and a sign.
As the organizer was purchasing the roasts for the giveaway, a man in line behind her at the grocery store asked why she was buying so many. When she told him that she was working with PETA to hand them out and urge people to celebrate a vegan Thanksgiving, he offered to purchase two of the roasts as a donation to support our cause.
Having a wonderful ThanksVegan at home is a compassionate and fulfilling way to embrace holiday tradition without harming anyone.
Most supermarkets stock a variety of animal-free options at wallet-friendly prices—from dairy-free butter to vegan turkey roasts—so swapping ingredients is a snap.
PETA’s free ThanksVegan guide will help you cook the meal of your life for the next holiday and many more to come. Whether you’re hosting, traveling, or hunkering down at home for a small-scale feast, we’ve got you covered:
