Every year millions of turkeys are sacrificed in order that Americans can show their thanks. How about all people NOT have turkey this year - the following facts from the PETA site might be of interest to ATS members. Let's give the turkeys something to be thankful for too?

"More than 45 million turkeys are killed every year for Thanksgiving alone, and more than 300 million are killed for food throughout the year in the United States. These beautiful, inquisitive, intelligent birds endure lives of suffering and painful deaths.

Did you know?

• Factory-farmed birds are fed antibiotics and have been purposely bred to gain an enormous amount of weight in a short period of time. This leads to heart attacks, crippled feet, and painful, swollen joints. The bones and leg muscles of many birds give out under the weight of their huge upper-bodies, and countless others are barely able to stand.

• On factory farms, turkeys live for months in sheds where they are packed so tightly that flapping a wing or stretching a leg is nearly impossible. Most are given no more than three and a half square feet of space. They stand in waste, and urine and ammonia fumes burn their eyes and lungs.

• To keep the
overcrowded birds from scratching and pecking each other to death, part of their beaks and toes are sliced off with hot blades, and no anesthetics are used.

• Millions of people become sick and thousands die each year from eating contaminated flesh. Studies indicate that one out of every eight turkeys is infected with salmonella bacteria.

• Turkey contains no fiber but has lots of fat and cholesterol. For example, a roasted turkey’s leg contains 724.5 milligrams of cholesterol and derives 42 percent of its calories from fat—more than many cuts of beef."

etc etc

www.peta.org...

In case you haven't guessed a vegetarian here - Tofurkey dinner here on thanksgiving.

[edit on 22-11-2004 by Mynaeris]

enjoy your meal!

I've heard once that digesting turkey makes you feel tired and lazy. (Never tested -I'm vegetarian)
Is it true???

[edit on 22-11-2004 by jazzgul]

A few years back the media led to that conclusion due to the presence of tryptophan (precursor to seratonin) in turkey, but in further studies it was seen that the amounts of tryptophan in the average meal isn't enough to cause the amount of seratonin needed for sleepiness.

It's supposed to be more the carbs and sugars, starches, etc., found in the meal that make you sleepy.

Yeah but the amount they described as the typical serving of turkey was unrealisticly small. I think alot of people pig out on turkey, and get that certain amount of L-Tryptophan...enough to raise Seratonin levels to the point of sleepiness. Also when you eat a ton of food the body has to spend that much more energy to break it down and digest it.

I'm also a vegetarian =) I plan on going crazy on the green bean casserole

[edit on 103030p://22u49 by Lucid Lunacy]

Intelligent?
Turkeys will drown if left outside in the rain because they look up and open their mouths.
No, seriously, it's true.
And I wouldn't call it beautiful either.
The Tofu is far more beautiful, and far more gentle a soul than most Turkeys
But you go and ahead and advocate their slaughter!?!?!
Eat real Turkey and save an innocent plant!

(I'm serious BtW not just mocking you)

[edit on 22-11-2004 by I_AM_that_I_AM]

PETA? You mean People Eating Tasty Animals, right?!

Well...inhumane treatmeant of livestock is unacceptable...but that doesn't mean that having a Turkey for Thanksgiving is immoral or impossible to achieve without buying one from one of these companies...

There are plenty of properly farm-raised turkeys out there on the internet to choose from, or in your local communities...And if you're like my family, chances are, your turkey on the table this year will be one that someone in your family took the time, prepartion and skill involved to hunt and kill....

Besides...My sister's a veggan and I've tried those Tofrukeys....

Fear Not, no Turkeys will die at our house this year.

I am cooking a 10 lb USDA Prime standing ribroast and a whole Buffalo Tenderloin both will be grilled. Mmmmmmmmm

The turkey that is consumed at Thanks Giving is bred to be food. We are not eating wild turkeys here. If you took those same turkeys and released them in the wild, they wouldnt last a week. Thier breast are too big, thier legs are to short, and they cant fly. They are even ALL WHITE! No camo protection for those turkeys. So eat some turkey, be happy, and give thanks that you are somewhere that is able to give you a choice between tofu turkey and the real stuff.

FredT, where do you live? Im coming for dinner

I am taking your advice and not cooking a turkey.

Instead, I will be cooking 2.

1 to be deep-fried in peanut oil...3 minutes a lb at 350 degrees.
Once you have had a fried turkey you won't want to eat it any other way.

They are SO MOIST and juicy.

The other bird will be thrown in the oven for stuffing and gravy fixins.

Mmmmm..I'm getting hungry already/

PETA also is claiming that fish have feelings and you wouldn't hook your dog or cat in the mouth, would you?

PETA is a case in mass psychosis.

Does the wheat plant have feelings as well?

Ummm, fried turkey. Makes me a bit homesick; my dad used to fry a turkey every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

moxyone, are you in La., by any chance?

On topic: yes, we're having turkey, as well (none of that nasty 'tofurkey' stuff for us carnivores); also a big ol' pot of chicken & sausage gumbo. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Standing Rib Roast...that's some good eatin'....usually I do one of those for X'mas...

Personally, I think people can take their tofu turkeys and shove them where you stuff a turkey, but hey, that's just me....

Look, in order to survive, living things must consume other living things. Whether it's a plant or an animal, we need to kill to survive. We didn't design it that way, it's simply how things are. If we weren't meant to eat it, it wouldn't taste so damn good!

I'm sure Fiona Apple makes her turkey from tofu and cocaine....

Personally, I prefer the traditional one with all the fixin's. In fact, I'm cooking up TWO turkeys this year! One traditional, one smoked. Here's a good thing to do with left over smoked turkey. Add it to cream of chicken soup and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. The smoky flavor gets infused into the soup, and it's the best damned thing....mmm....mmm....

EDIT: Is it lunchtime yet???

[edit on 23-11-2004 by Gazrok]

all the talk about turkey is making me hungry... mmm... turkey
tofu turkey is not making me hungry but feeling a little sick

M, say it isn't so! A vegetarian? What kind of wine pairing machinations can possibly arise from a tofu dilemma?

I praise and laud the noble bird that our own Ben Franklin proposed as a national symbol... usually with some homemade cranberry sauce and gravy, and a quaff of a Meursault (unless the turkey has been smoked, then a Volnay).

I'm going to go drown my sorrows...

Omnivorous Monkeys, not just for Thanksgiving Day Feasts anymore...

Actually in North Florida, but love that down home cooking!

Guess its just a RED STATE deal, huh?

The BLUE states can have their tofu. yuck.

Having done it a few times it is the BEST way to cook a turkey Period!
I always wondered what would happen If I lowered a frozen turkey into the boiling oil

PETA. We had this resident who was a total ass, decided to lecture us lowly nurses one day on the evils of eating meat. He went off to be leaving his PETA mug at the station. Well we got some dermabond (pricey crazy glue) and permantly affixed sheepskin to his mug. last we heard of that

You make the plight of the turkey's sound so horrible Mynaeris... So wouldn't killing them off and eating them be putting them out pf their misery? I think so!

Besides, what would happen if no one ate turkeys? The farmers wouldn't have a market, so they'd make no money. This would put them well into bankruptcy, especially since most farmers here in America are already in massive debt. Plus then there would be a massive overflow of leftover turkeys, and what would be done with those? I doubt that the farmers would want to go through the effort of putting several hundred turkeys down humanely.

Anyway, I plan on helping to put three turkeys out of their misery this Thursday; one baked, one grilled, and one deep fried. Mmm, mmm, mmm!!

Ah no doubt a glass of the infamouse 2 buck chuck.

However, for us red meat eaters.

The tenderloin will be paired with the 1997 Neibaum Coppola Rubicon
The Prime Rib will be paired with the 1999 Rosemount 'Balmoral' Syrah

Charles Shaw? I wouldn't use that stuff to clean the mud off my truck's tires.

The "Balmoral" has been a favorite of mine (I'm a case deep 97-00), vintage after vintage, you just can't go wrong.

The Rubicon is nice as well, but I'm more of an "Insignia", fan myself (I found a case of 97 in a Sam's Club this year, original price $118 a bottle, those maroons ).

Good to know I'm not the only oeneophile here.

I wish. Most people see Rosemount and think of thier $7 specials. The Penfolds 2001 RWT is very nice, and the Penfolds Grange Is great (so ive been told) but way pricey.

I have a few Insignias in the cellar as well. Joseph Phelps makes great wine.

Ah, but why waste the good stuff on coagulated boiled beans?

My bad -- I hadn't realized the technique of deep-frying turkeys had spread beyond the swamps of my home state. Enjoy, everyone.