Letter to the editor: Alternatives to Thanksgiving turkey

Last week, President Biden set infrastructure aside just long enough to pardon two turkeys. With more than 200 million turkeys killed in the U.S. each year, everyone can pardon their own turkey and instead try a plant-based roast this Thanksgiving.

Turkeys are bred and raised in toxic fume-filled crowded sheds, and their beaks and toes are clipped without any anesthesia. At just 16 weeks, their throats are slit and they are lowered into boiling water to remove their feathers. All for a holiday tradition?

Meat eaters pay a heavy price, too. Turkey flesh is laced with saturated fats and cholesterol that elevate the risk of chronic diseases, and prolonged cooking is required to destroy deadly pathogens.

With growing popularity of plant-based holiday roasts, U.S. turkey production has dropped by a whopping 27% from its 1995 high of 293 million.

This Thanksgiving, let’s give thanks for our good health and happiness with a cruelty-free plant-based holiday roast; visit CompassionateHolidays.com for options and recipes.

Eric C. Lindstrom

Bethesda, Md.

The writer is executive director of the Farm Animal Rights Movement.