Posted on 11/21/2001 4:37:34 AM PST by wbill
Arlington, Va. (CNSNews.com) - Trading the Thanksgiving turkey for Tofu? That's what representatives from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were urging Americans to do Tuesday.
"We are asking people to have a compassionate Thanksgiving by substituting turkey for one of the alternatives, like Tofurky, UnTurkey or Tofu Turkey," PETA spokesperson Bruce Friedrich said at Washington's Reagan National Airport.
PETA workers Kristie Phelps and Lina Choudhury, who braved the 50-degree weather wearing only bikinis made of plastic lettuce leaves, handed out pamphlets explaining the conditions at the nation's turkey farms. They asked airport workers and travelers to try a vegetarian or vegan (foods that contain no animal products) meal instead of the traditional Thanksgiving turkey.
"I want to appeal to holiday travelers to ask them to go vegan this Thanksgiving," Phelps said. "Fifty million turkeys each year are slaughtered for Thanksgiving after living their lives in unhealthy, inhumane conditions."
PETA claims turkey farms force the birds to spend their lives in filthy, overcrowded sheds, where heart attacks, contagious diseases, and skeletal deformities run rampant, and where the animals are bred and drugged to produce abnormal amounts of flesh.
The group says its appeal is also aimed at individuals concerned about their health and diet. According to PETA, turkey flesh is loaded with fat and cholesterol, and many nutrition experts fear the antibiotics and other chemicals fed to turkeys are passed on to humans who eat the animals.
The campaign has garnered some high profile support. Martin Sheen, the star of NBC's The West Wing, has spoken out against conditions at turkey farms. Also, PETA has shipped faux turkey products to almost 100 homeless shelters across the country.
The PETA campaign had some immediate effect on those who read the pamphlets. Airline worker Kenneth Brown said the information made him reconsider his Thanksgiving menu.
"I'm sure not going to eat turkey this Thanksgiving," he said. "After reading about the way that turkeys are held in captivity until they're slaughtered, it's sad. It's just a poor bird."
John Green, an airport security guard, said he was impressed with PETA's methods of spreading their message.
"I'm not even touching turkey this year," he said. "In fact, I'm not going to be able to even look at a turkey this year.
"They sure know how to get their point across," Green said.
However, another traveler, admittedly entertained by the press conference, said she was unwilling to give up turkey.
"I thought the lettuce bikinis were cute," said Mateel Todd, who claimed to be supportive of PETA on some issues. "But their campaign is not going to stop me from being a meat eater. I believe that animals raised for food can be treated ethically.
"Besides, I'm originally from Montana, and I would encourage everyone to eat Montana beef," she said.
David Almasi, spokesman for the National Center for Public Policy Research, said PETA chose the wrong holiday to criticize.
"PETA has to remember that this is a holiday based on the Pilgrims and the Indians working together to overcome the adversity of the harsh winter, and celebrating that they have been able to work with the earth to sustain themselves and the earth," he said. "If anything, this is one of the greatest, [politically correct] holidays as far as the environment is concerned."
Almasi added that Tuesday's press conference is just one of PETA's many moves to publicize itself and gain national recognition.
"It is just another attempt by PETA to get into the press," Almasi said. "One thing you can say about them is that they are a constant P.R. machine, and they have some genius people working there to make sure that every event in our lives affects their animal rights campaign."
I understand why you find PETA's attempts to convert people to vegetarianism and veganism funny, but I'm less sure why so many people appear to think that it doesn't matter how animals are reared and killed. I happily eat meat -- but I try to buy meat that comes from sources where husbandry and slaughtering standards are high. It feels like many of you would find that laughable. Is that so? If so, why?
enjoy your toFUrkey!
Socialism/communism did not work back then either.
My employer is big on United Way...the co-ordinator came by recently to collect their cash. I told her I figured that any charity that refuses to help the boy scouts isn't worthy of my money. That was the end of that.
twyn1
P.S. -- that Tofurkey stuff sounds REALLY nasty
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| Name: Poorva From: Philadelphia Turn-ons: Seinfeld reruns, hip-hop, raves, hot sauce, Mexican food, her mom's Indian food, backpacking, the beach, dancing, rats, chickens, raspberry soy lattes, the Cartoon Network, shoes with really big soles, wine, talk shows, garlic, and olive oil. Turn-offs: People who don't spay or neuter their animals, men who think neutering their dog will make them less of a man, racism, speciesism, raw tomatoes, and tequila. |
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...all those soybean plants raised in captivity and then murdered in cold blood, just in order to make tofu...??? It makes me sad, very sad. /sarcasm
Yeah, all this over turkeys -- from the same kind crowd that aborts humans without a thought.
What criteria do you use to choose a source? Are there farms that specialise in "nice" animal husbandry? Do you have some links to "nice" sources?
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