‘Time for Turkey’—or ‘Tofurky’? PETA Seeks a Kinder Spotify Channel

New Playlist Would Make This Thanksgiving More Animal-Friendly

For Immediate Release:
November 1, 2018

Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382

PETA sent a letter today asking Spotify to change its “Time for Turkey” channel—which provides users with playlists based on the length of time it takes to cook a turkey’s dead body—to a cruelty-free “Time for Tofurky” channel, complete with tunes from some of the vegan artists who already appear on PETA’s Spotify playlists, such as Jason Mraz and Johnny Marr.

“Vegan musicians and vegan fans don’t like tuning in to a channel associated with cooking the corpse of a sensitive bird who didn’t want to die,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is asking Spotify to change its tune and swap out its tasteless ‘Time for Turkey’ channel for one that’s music to the ears of listeners discovering their new favorite vegan holiday roast.”

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat.” For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to Spotify CEO and cofounder Daniel Ek follows.

November 1, 2018

Daniel Ek

CEO and Founder
Spotify

Dear Mr. Ek,

I’m writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 6.5 million members and supporters worldwide, including thousands across New York, about your “Time for Turkey” channel with a suggestion that we hope you’ll find noteworthy. Please swap it out and make a major statement by replacing it with a cruelty-free “Time for Tofurky” channel, since it’s a tad tasteless to have people cooking turkeys while listening to songs by musicians such as Jason Mraz and Johnny Marr, who are vegans and want birds to be able to live and use their own voices. To make it no treble for you, PETA already has playlists with dozens of songs from compassionate artists to choose from. I’d say we’ll make them yours for a song, but they’re actually free.

As you may know, turkeys are smart, sensitive birds with a large vocal repertoire, and they’ve been known to enjoy clucking along to music and even “dancing” to the flute. In nature, chicks stay with their mothers for up to five months, and they eat meals together as a family, much as humans do during the holidays. Yet in slaughterhouses, fully conscious turkeys are shackled upside down by their fragile legs, and their heads are dragged through an electrified stun bath, which shoots currents through their bodies, causing spasms, burns, and fractures. Government inspectors report that many birds are stunned improperly and are still conscious when their throats are cut and they’re immersed in scalding-hot water to remove their feathers.

Every year in the U.S., some 300 million turkeys are killed for food—more than 46 million are killed for Thanksgiving alone. However, as the number of vegans has skyrocketed 600 percent since 2014, the demand for vegan holiday dishes, like Tofurky roast, is also skyrocketing. Since millions of Americans now enjoy a meat-free holiday for a variety of reasons, it makes sense to give turkeys a rest.

We hope you’ll agree that cruelty has no place on the table or the playlist during a holiday meant to celebrate kindness and gratitude. With your help, we can move one step closer to a world that’s tuned into compassion. Thank you for your consideration.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk

President