No-one Gives The Turkey A Choice!
Goodwill to all should include the animals.
“The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.” ― Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci has been dead for over 500 years; sadly, nothing has changed since he said those words. In fact, it’s got worse.
The holiday season is about to begin with Thanksgiving being the first. Then comes Christmas along with the New Year and for us here in the Southern hemisphere, summer holidays.
These times when we are celebrating, the food seems to be the most important part of it. But surely it shouldn’t be about the food? Shouldn’t we be celebrating who we are eating with and even more so — shouldn’t we start thinking about who we are eating.
The family gather around the table, which is laden with delicious fare. Some will say grace thanking the Lord for providing them with the succulent array; others will simply carve the bird, dish up the veggies and dig in.
And that’s the operative word. ‘Bird.’
Every year in the USA alone, approximately 46 million turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving. That’s a lot of birds for ONE DAY.
Then comes Christmas and it’s estimated that in the US and UK a total of approximately 32 million are killed, again for just one day.
But it’s not just the turkeys. There are other animals that grace the table. Tens of millions of pigs, chickens, ducks and lambs will also be slaughtered. The vast majority of these innocents will have a short life crammed into pens, cages and barns having been bred specifically to grow fat quickly so they can be harvested at a few weeks or months old. Then they will be trucked off to be violently killed and butchered, and the end result is presented to you amidst holly and tinsel in the grocery store.
You don’t ‘see’ the sufferings of the bird or animal. You ‘see’ the final product. You don’t ‘see’ the face of the innocent, nor do you get to look into their eyes and witness the fear and bewilderment. The animal doesn’t know what it’s done to deserve to die.
So this Thanksgiving and Christmas and any other festive occasion you are part of, please think of WHO you have on your table.
I trust we will not have to wait another 500 years before the killing stops.
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