My refusal to participate in the violence of Thanksgiving

I'm going to depart from my usual blog posts of announcing my art events, because what's on my mind are the 45 million turkeys who have been raised in horrifying conditions and killed in even more horrifying conditions so that Americans can participate in the Thanksgiving ritual. I wish so much that people would wake up and realize the hidden violence behind the societal requirement to eat the body of a tortured turkey in celebration of this holiday.

The dead turkeys that will be on most American holiday tables on November 27th were babies who never saw the light of day, who lived in conditions that, were dogs and cats subjected to them, would be illegal. And yes, this is true of free-range turkey "farms" as well as factory farms.

Like other birds, turkeys have no protection under the Animal Welfare Act or the Humane Slaughter Act. A single slaughterhouse can kill 360 birds per minute, or 518,000 in 24 hours (www.foodispower.org/turkeys/). Think about it, and let the reality of what that means penetrate you emotionally.

I haven't eaten a turkey since 1980, and I'm just fine. The best nutritional science tells us that humans have no need for animal protein. Really, it is okay to go against society's expectations, especially when those expectations require participation in a violent system. Non-violence begins with the fork.

"The Cruelest Holiday" (c) 2013 Michelle Waters