Eugene weekly., November 21, 2024, Page 4, Image 4

OPINION
Local
& Vocal
Thanksgiving Reflections
Viewpoint by Hope Bohanec
Moving away from the turkey
A
h, tradition. Like the sturdy
railing along the edge of the
vast Grand Canyon, we cling
to it with a sense of security
and reassurance. Traditions
are the threads that weave the fabric of
society, shaping our identity and connect-
ing us to our past. However, as each gener-
ation passes recipe cards to the next, it
is imperative that we pause to examine
our traditions with an eye toward ethics,
sustainability and morality.
One such tradition that is currently
under the microscope is the practice of
confining and slaughtering billions of
farmed animals, and particularly poignant
this month, the Thanksgiving turkey.
The iconic image of a family gathered
around a table with a massive bird carcass
as the centerpiece has been etched into
our collective consciousness as the quint-
essential scene of the fourth Thursday
in November. But what was traditionally
seen simply as “food” by older generations
requires deeper refl ection as the ethical
complications of this traditional holiday
meal have become the subject of scrutiny.
For most of us in the U.S., Thanksgiv-
ing is a special time for family, football,
fi lling food and a little time off from the
daily grind. However, for many vegans,
although we enjoy all these things, at no
other time of the year do we feel the acute
sense of why we are vegan.
The mood of the holiday is about giving
thanks, but how can we be grateful for our
many blessings while simultaneously turn-
ing a blind eye to the suff ering of millions
of sensitive, sentient birds? For vegans, this
paradox is particularly poignant on this
holiday, when the mass consumption of
turkeys is not only accepted, but expected.
Turkeys bred for the holiday meal are
packed into long, windowless buildings by
the thousands. Much like chickens bred for
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November 21, 2024
their meat, turkeys are overcrowded and
forced to live in their own waste with no
ventilation, no sunshine and no semblance
of a natural life. Turkeys have been geneti-
cally manipulated to become so heavy that
their bones are too weak to support their
weight and they suff er from leg deformi-
ties and joint pain in their fi rst few weeks
of life. The birds go to slaughter as young
as 12 weeks old, even though their natural
lifespan can be a decade or more — they
never see their fi rst birthday.
As people become aware of the miser-
able conditions birds endure in the poul-
try industry, companies are attempting to
appease customers by describing turkey
meat as “humane” or “free-range.”
I have personally gone to both conven-
tional and “free range” turkey farms and
unfortunately, these labels are largely insub-
stantial and unregulated, and animals are
still debeaked, detoed, violently handled
Photo by Pixabay
and sent to a frightening, painful slaugh-
ter — their decapitated and dismembered
bodies sold under these “humane” labels.
Another reality that has come into our
awareness in recent years is the devas-
tation of the animal agriculture industry
and how much more destructive farming
animals is for our planet when compared
to plant farming.
Research done at Carnegie Mellon
University found that a 16-pound dead
turkey creates 34.2 pounds of CO2. You
can combine the gravy, mashed potatoes,
roasted Brussels sprouts, biscuits, cran-
berry sauce and apple pie for 14 guests
and it would be equal to the impact of
just the turkey meat. Further, according
to the USDA, it is estimated that families
waste around 35 percent of the turkey
fl esh, increasing the environmental impact
by 55 percent.
There are numerous delicious vegan
options for holiday centerpieces found in
the frozen section of most every grocery
store in Eugene and the surrounding area.
A stuff ed pumpkin or other large squash
can also make a beautiful, more compas-
sionate and more healthful centerpiece.
All the traditional side dishes can be easily
veganized with non-dairy milks and other
plant-based alternatives. I have heard
people report that vegan egg nogs taste
much better than the old version.
Tradition should uplift and strengthen
a community. As long as a tradition causes
suff ering, it is hindering our entire commu-
nity’s ability to thrive. Let’s honor the
symbol of our holiday, the turkey, by not
exploiting and killing her. As we gather
around the table this Thanksgiving, let’s
celebrate a new tradition of compassion
and kindness, for all species on earth.
Hope Bohanec is executive director of
Compassionate Living, Compassionate-living.org,
and the organizer of the Eugene VeganFest coming
on May 4, 2025, EugeneVeganFest.org.
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