Pardon me, pilgrim! This Thanksgiving, how about ditching the dead bird? In today’s farming system, beautiful, inquisitive, intelligent turkeys endure lives of suffering and painful deaths. Here are 10 good reasons to carve out a new tradition by flocking to vegan entrées, along with some scrumptious holiday cooking tips and recipes—and thankfully, none of them require stuffing anyone. But first, a video of your turkey dinner in reverse:
Turkeys are “smart animals with personality and character, and keen awareness of their surroundings,” says Oregon State University poultry scientist Tom Savage. The Atlantic article “Consider the Turkey” reports that researchers “have found that when an individual turkey is removed from his flock, even in domesticity, he’ll squawk in obvious protest until reunited with his posse.” They relish having their feathers stroked. They dance when reunited with a person they recognize. Anyone who spends time with them at farm sanctuaries quickly learns that turkeys are as varied in personality as dogs and cats.
Turkey is a popular staple of many holiday meals and family gatherings. However, there are many ethical and health reasons why turkey may be bad for you. Here are 9 reasons why you may want to avoid eating turkey
1. Cruel Factory Farm Conditions
Over 300 million turkeys are killed for food each year in the US. The vast majority are raised in crowded unsanitary factory farm conditions. Turkeys are often kept in dark windowless sheds with no access to fresh air or sunlight. They are bred to grow very fast and become crippled under their own weight. Many suffer from painful health issues like leg deformities, joint pain, and heart failure.
2. Routine Mutilations
It’s standard practice for turkeys on factory farms to be subjected to painful mutilations without pain relief. These include beak searing, toe clipping, and de-snooding. This causes acute and chronic pain and distress. De-beaking impairs their ability to feed normally.
3. Rough Handling And Transport
Turkeys are subjected to rough handling during loading and transport to slaughter. They are grabbed by their fragile wings and legs, carried upside down, and violently thrown into crates. Many suffer broken bones and bruising. They endure long journeys in extreme heat or cold without food or water.
4. Inhumane Slaughter
At slaughter, shackled turkeys are dragged through an electrified water bath meant to stun them. However, line speeds are so fast that many are still conscious when their throats are cut. Others miss the throat cutting blade completely and drown in the scalding tank alive.
5. Increased Antibiotic Resistance
The crowded, dirty conditions turkeys are raised in necessitate the routine use of antibiotics. However overuse of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistant superbugs that threaten human health. The CDC estimates at least 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur each year.
6. High In Saturated Fat
Turkey contains high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol compared to plant-based protein sources. The skin, in particular, is loaded with saturated fat, which raises LDL cholesterol levels. This increases the risk of heart disease, obesity, and other health issues.
7. Can Contain Harmful Chemicals
Turkeys stored for long periods develop bacterial growth. To counteract this, turkey meat is treated with sodium nitrite or other preservatives that may be carcinogenic when cooked at high heat or over-consumed.
8. Environmentally Destructive
Industrial turkey farming generates huge amounts of fecal waste that pollutes waterways and contributes to algal blooms. Producing just 1 pound of turkey meat requires over 100 gallons of water. As meat demand grows, precious fresh water supplies are being depleted.
9. Unethical Treatment Of Workers
Working conditions in turkey slaughterhouses and processing plants are extremely dangerous. Workers endure repetitive stress injuries, exposure to harsh chemicals, and psychological trauma from killing countless animals per day. Many workers are immigrants or refugees with few other options.
Want Stuffing With Your Supergerms?
Dosing turkeys with antibiotics to stimulate their growth—and to keep them alive in filthy, disease-ridden conditions that would otherwise kill them—poses risks to people who eat them. The USDA confirmed that 80 percent of all antibacterial drugs used in the U.S. are given to animals, and often the animals aren’t even sick. Ralph Loglisci, project director at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, explains that “all low-dose usage of antibiotics can lead to a significant increase in antibiotic resistance.”
An article published by the Natural Resources Defense Council further details the dangers of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, explaining, “Drug-resistant bacteria can and do travel on meat but that’s just one of many routes off the farm. These dangerous bacteria can hitch a ride out of animal feedlots on workers who handle contaminated animals or meat. They can travel through water, soil, and air that come into contact with contaminated animal waste.” Furthermore, they can “teach” other bacteria to be resistant. Still hungry? Neither are we.
No Life for a Living Animal
On factory farms, turkeys are kept for months in sheds where they’re packed so tightly that flapping a wing or stretching a leg is nearly impossible. They stand in waste, and urine and ammonia fumes burn their eyes and lungs. At the slaughterhouse, turkeys often have their throats slit while hanging upside down and still conscious. Those who miss the automated knife are scalded to death in the defeathering tank. Watch this horrifying cartoon that depicts a turkey’s last moments in the slaughterhouse:
Anyone who has driven by a farm has probably smelled it first from a mile away. Turkeys and other animals raised for food in the U.S. produce far more excrement than the entire U.S. human population, roughly 89,000 pounds per second, all without the benefit of waste-treatment systems. There are no meaningful federal guidelines to regulate how farms treat, store, and dispose of the trillions of pounds of concentrated animal excrement they produce each year. Learn more about how factory farming damages the environment.
How Has Turkey Been Going?
FAQ
Why is eating turkey a problem?
Each year, millions of turkeys are raised and slaughtered for Thanksgiving, enduring inhumane conditions in factory farms. Beyond the animal welfare issues with this, the turkey industry also has significant environmental impacts. When alternatives exist, the reasons to forgo turkey are plentiful.
Why is turkey a high risk food?
Harmful bacteria can easily splash from raw meat and poultry onto worktops, chopping boards, dishes and utensils. Germs that cause food poisoning can also linger for days in the sink. Up to 80% of people significantly increase the risk of food poisoning by washing their turkeys before cooking them.
Is turkey meat good or bad?
In general, ground turkey is a great option for anyone. It’s a great source of protein, vitamins, and minerals while also being low in saturated fat. It contains more polyunsaturated fat than ground beef, but polyunsaturated fat is a healthier type of fat, so this is a win.
Is it safe to eat turkey now?
A turkey needs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees before it’s safe to eat.