Vegan Turkey Winners! November 16, 2007

Last week, I told you about our Garden Protein Vegan Turkey Essay Contest. We asked people to enter by writing an essay, letting their friends and family know why they won't be eating turkeys for Thanksgiving. We managed to narrow things down to five lucky winners, and as I'm typing this, some vegan turkey is making its way to each and every one of them. Want to know why they won? Check out what they had to say for yourself:

Tess Derusha, 15
Gainesville, GA
This Thanksgiving, I will be keeping turkey off my plate. It took me a long time to decide what I would say, I thought I'd go in detail about how they die but now understand it doesn't really matter how the turkeys are killed because no matter which way they're killed, they're always going to end up on someone's plate. Why is it that every time we think of Thanksgiving we think of turkey? Since when is Thanksgiving only about food? Isn't it about being thankful for what we have? Maybe for once the turkeys would like to feel thankful for what they have too, because in the sheds that they live in, they have nothing: No family, no love, no real home, no peace—they live in fear until they are killed. Once they die, they end up on someone's plate. We look at our pets and we feel thankful for them; they feel thankful for us. You would never eat your pet for Thanksgiving, so why eat a turkey? They are just like your pet; they feel emotions too. When you have a baby you're thankful for that, you love the baby, but the mother turkeys don't even get to see their babies. The turkeys grow up with no family whatsoever. You wouldn't eat a helpless baby, so why eat someone else's baby? This year if you really want to feel thankful, leave meat off your plate and out of your house, because if everyone could see how much animals are like us they wouldn't eat them...This Thanksgiving make the turkeys thankful—get fake meat instead. Thank you, from me and the turkeys.

Tara Jeffries, 21
Greensboro, NC
I choose not to consume animal products because I do not believe in taking something that does not belong to me. Because animals do not have the ability to communicate their consent to us, as humans, it is wrong of us to use their bodies or their eggs or their milk or their fur or anything else for our own use. Around Thanksgiving especially, hundreds of thousands of turkeys are slaughtered. They've lived a miserable life in cages that may or may not even allow them to turn around in a complete circle. Their muscles haven't developed, their morale is lower than low, and they've never even seen the outside. Even free range turkeys are still killed off before they've been able to live a long and happy life. I would not kill and eat any of my human friends; I won't eat any of my animal friends either.

Anthony Lyons, 22
Lakewood, OH
I have now been vegetarian for 9 years, since I realized the sad but true process of producing meat. Not only is the process extremely cruel, it is also damaging to our bodies and our environment. And right now is a huge time to realize how much this is adversely affecting out planet. With this is mind I have decided to adhere more to a vegan diet. I have always preferred eating more dairy/egg free meals for the satisfaction and compassion of the animals that would need to produce my food. Me and my friends always make Tofurkys for the holidays and also encourage others to join. Holidays are a big time to show others that you care for our future on this planet as well as the animals that might have died for your meal. When your friends and family see that you have omitted the normal turkey fare from your plate for a much healthier, and caring meal it will have its impact. This year I plan on making a few Tofurkys as they are wonderful and everyone is always eager to taste!

Katie Mogul, 17
Toms River, NJ
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to give up meat. I would try to "sacrifice" it for Lent, but my mom wouldn't allow it. This past summer, I decided that I was old enough to make my own choices, and I've been a vegetarian. Now, back in my meat-eating days, Thanksgiving used to be my favorite holiday. I figured it wouldn't be as attractive this year without being able to eat the main course. But as I researched, I discovered tons of yummy-looking alternatives. I am now in the process of designing my own menu. Hopefully, I'll also be able to show my family and friends that there are different ways to enjoy this dinner without eating meat. I hope to inspire the people at dinner. My parents always try to find a problem with my vegetarianism, but maybe they'll see how mature I can be (when it comes to eating) and the issue will be taken more seriously in my family. I know I'll be more comfortable knowing that nothing I consume on Thanksgiving will be tainted with dead animal meat. That's something to be thankful for.

Suzanne Waggoner, 16
Tomah, WI
Thanksgiving is known to me as a day of mass murder because of the way the turkeys and other birds are treated. It is nothing more than a way for corporations to make money. They don't care about how these innocent creatures are treated. They are only concerned about what kind of profit they will make from their deaths. At this time of year, turkeys are loaded with extra amounts of growth hormones because heavier turkeys will rake in larger amounts of money than a normal sized turkey would. These animals suffer from infection, broken legs, and other painful injuries. As Marilyn Manson states in "The Fight Song," "The death of one is a tragedy, the death of a million is just a statistic." These words apply to the animals that are killed each year for Thanksgiving and other holidays. When just a single, innocent animal is killed, people feel sorry for that one animal, but when millions are killed in genocide, it will only become a mere statistic in the growing rate of sales that holiday season. Because there are too many deaths to count, people don't stop to think of the number that are killed and just continue to buy these so called "food" items. It's sickening to think that a lifeless being is lying on my plate. That blood, bones and muscle is what I would be consuming for a meal. I choose to eat cruelty-free on Thanksgiving not only for the health benefits, but out of respect for animals!

Wishing for some vegan turkey for yourself? You're in luck! Garden Protein Veggie Turkey Breasts are available at your local Whole Foods, and there's always the classic tummy-pleasing Tofurky, which you can find at pretty much every major grocery store across the country, so be sure to get yourself to the store to buy one soon!

And if you're looking for some Thanksgiving recipes, here are a few suggestions:

Creamy Chive Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes
Best-Ever Green Bean Bake
Roasted Garlic Gravy
Pumpkin Patch 'Cheesecake'

Thanksgiving is a time to be, well, thankful, and I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who help save animals by not eating them. You're an inspiration to all of us at peta2. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes it brings a tear to my eyes to see the difference you're all making in the way animals are treated. I love being able to help you all help animals. That's what I'll be thankful for on Thanksgiving. That and my full (animal-free) stomach, of course.

What will you be thankful for?

♥ Marta

Post this story to: Facebook Digg del.icio.us Newsvine MySpace
StumbleUpon More:

Comments

Post a comment