Turkey’s Poignant Holiday Reminder: ‘I’m ME, Not MEAT’

New Billboard Urges People to Opt for Vegan Feasts on Thanksgiving and Beyond

For Immediate Release:
November 19, 2018

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

As families prepare to hit the road to head to their relatives’ homes for Thanksgiving dinner, PETA is placing a new billboard on U.S. 22 just outside Lebanon, facing west, showing a turkey’s face alongside the words “I’m ME, Not MEAT. See the Individual. Go Vegan.“

 The billboard will be located at 1001 U.S. 22. The ad is part of a series of similar ones being placed in cities across the U.S. for the holiday season, including inside airports in Rapid City, South Dakota, and Akron, Ohio, as well as on billboards in Denver, Minneapolis, Boston, Houston, Las Vegas, and Fort Myers, Florida.

“This billboard aims to inspire people to consider who turkeys really are—gentle young birds who don’t deserve to be strung upside down and slaughtered for a fleeting taste,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is calling on every kind soul to explore vegan dishes this holiday season—and every day—in order to celebrate life.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that at least 44 million turkeys are killed in the U.S. each year for Thanksgiving and more than 22 million are killed for Christmas. In nature, turkeys are protective and loving parents as well as spirited explorers who can climb trees and run as fast as 25 mph. Turkeys in the wild can live up to 10 years, but those raised for food are normally slaughtered when they’re 5 months old. The young birds are hung by their feet from metal shackles and dragged through an electrified bath that can cause them to have full-body tremors. They’re often still conscious when their throats are slit and they’re dumped into scalding-hot water to remove their feathers.

PETA offers a free vegan starter kit (available here) full of recipes, tips, and more. For more information, please visit PETA.org.