Thanksgiving: Adopt a Turkey, Don’t Eat One!
I went vegetarian in July of 2007. Starting that Thanksgiving, I decided to institute a new holiday tradition: instead of eating a turkey, I sponsor one through Farm Sanctuary‘s Adopt-A-Turkey program. You donate $25 to them, and they send you a photograph of your sponsored turkey and a certificate. This year, the turkey I’m sponsoring is named Rhonda – isn’t she gorgeous?
Photo from Farm Sanctuary website
I loved the idea of taking Thanksgiving – a holiday that most people celebrate around the body of a dead turkey – and turning it into an opportunity to help a turkey instead.
Obviously Jessica agrees, as she has been sponsoring turkeys since Thanksgiving of 2006. For the past couple years, she has adopted three turkeys each Thanksgiving – one for her & her boyfriend, one for her parents, and one for her brother & his girlfriend.
This year’s turkeys are:
Bubbles
Mello
Olive
Thanksgiving presents a really wonderful opportunity to showcase the season’s bounty of delicious plant-based foods, leaving us no reason to include a dead bird (or pig) on the table. Farm Sanctuary offers us a beautiful way to celebrate turkeys on Thanksgiving instead of using their bodies as part of a feast.
Head on over to Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt-A-Turkey website to choose your turkey today!
Jessica
Mindy
How do you know they’re not taking pictures of the turkeys right before they send them to the slaughterhouse? I’m not suggesting that they are, but I’m just suspicious by nature, I guess.
Farm Sanctuary is a well-known & incredibly well-respected organization that provides care & shelter for rescued farm animals. Do some research on them. You’ll see that the animals in their care would never, ever be sent to slaughter. Additionally, sponsors can visit their adopted animals at Farm Sanctuary (they have shelters in California & New York).
We go to Farm Sanctuary in NY every summer. What an incredible place to visit, and the turkeys are our favorites. I have had an “adopted” goose there for I think 15 years now. My original goose, JoJo, finally died of old age (and I was sad) but I have had a new one, Big Mama, for the last few years.
We often adopt a turkey as well, and this year my young son surprised me that he wanted to adopt Mello with his own money. I provided a matching grant.
It is good to be suspicious when people say they are doing something for the animals. So often it turns out to be exploitation. But Farm Sanctuary is totally loving and vegan. They rely almost entirely on individual donations, so this program is important for their work.
I’ve visited the turkeys at Farm Sanctuary’s Watkins Glen sanctuary, and I think this is a great way to celebrate the holiday.
Thanks for drawing attention to one of my fave causes!
Oh yay! Just saw your post – I adopted Bubbles and posted about it today too!
Anna adopted Gideon this year. Just got the certificate in the mail a couple days ago. She was very excited and proud. It’s hanging in her room.
Poor little Olive’s beak makes me sad! Look how terrible their “debeaking” job was. I mean, it’s awful no matter what, but it looks like she must have a hard time eating with such an uneven beak.
Oh, and I got my picture of Rhonda on Saturday. Her favorite foods are bananas and grapes, and she is a shy little turkey. What a cutie!
I noticed Olive’s beak, too! Poor girl. But I’m happy she’s in good care now!