Joaquin Phoenix needs People to go away turkey off the desk this Thanksgiving, and as an alternative, select vegan options. The actor and activist has joined up with Individuals of the Moral Remedy of Animals (PETA) to supply a voiceover for a video exposé on one of many US’ main turkey suppliers, Plainville Farms.
Most individuals who have fun Thanksgiving achieve this by consuming an enormous vacation meal with their family members. The desk is commonly crammed with casseroles, roast greens, gravy, stuffing, and, after all, turkey. Roughly 88 p.c of People select to eat turkey on Thanksgiving yearly, in line with the Nationwide Turkey Federation.
However Phoenix, who has been vegan for the reason that age of three and is a vocal animal advocate, needs this to alter. Alongside PETA, the actor notes that turkeys are abused within the meat trade. The video he narrates reveals Plainville Farms staff kicking, stomping on, and beating the birds with a heavy metallic rod.
“They threw hens like they have been basketballs,” says Phoenix. “After failing to interrupt their necks, they left the birds to convulse and die in agony. Should you have fun Thanksgiving, cease paying somebody to harm animals on your Thanksgiving centerpiece. Select a vegan roast so that everybody can have one thing to be grateful for this vacation season.”
Unsplash
The lifetime of a turkey on a manufacturing unit farm
In response to PETA, Plainville Farms, which describes itself as a “humane” turkey provider, has been charged with a record-breaking 141 counts of cruelty to animals.
However it’s necessary to notice that even on manufacturing unit farms the place birds aren’t kicked or overwhelmed, the circumstances are nonetheless lower than favorable. Most birds are raised in cramped, industrialized manufacturing unit farm circumstances, the place they’ve little extra room than the dimensions of an A4 piece of paper to maneuver round.
And, no matter the place they’re raised, all turkeys within the meat trade can be slaughtered nicely earlier than they attain the top of their pure lifespan. If cared for nicely, a home turkey can dwell round a decade. However on a manufacturing unit farm, they’re unlikely to dwell longer than 21 weeks.
“Throughout their brief lives, they’re sometimes pressured to face in their very own waste and are bred to develop so giant so rapidly that their legs give out,” claims PETA. “At slaughterhouses, staff grasp the younger birds the wrong way up, drag them by way of an electrified tub, slit their throats, and dump them into scalding-hot de-feathering tanks—typically whereas they’re nonetheless aware.”
Within the lead-up to Thanksgiving, it’s estimated that greater than 46 million turkeys can be slaughtered for the vacation desk.
Tofurky
Go turkey-free this Thanksgiving
There are numerous methods to embrace a vegan centerpiece that doesn’t fund cruelty to turkeys. For concepts, observe our information to 14 vegan Thanksgiving roasts, for instance.
PETA is urging folks to have interaction in its ThanksVegan initiative this yr, by leaving animals off their vacation plate. “ThanksVegan is a day when compassionate folks feast on meat-free roasts, mashed potatoes made with dairy-free milk and vegan butter, stuffing, and inexperienced bean casserole made with savory vegan broth, and vegan pumpkin pie topped with 100% plant-based whipped cream,” notes the animal-rights group.
“It’s a day to get pleasure from all the standard Thanksgiving staples that we all know and love—with out contributing to the struggling that comes with elevating and killing animals for meals,” it continues.
Phoenix has labored with PETA on various events to advertise animal activism and lift consciousness of abuse. In January 2023, he lent his voice to a PETA Asia investigation exposing the down commerce. “The one strategy to finish this cruelty and spare geese is to cease shopping for gadgets that comprise feathers,” he mentioned. And this isn’t the primary time that he has urged folks to cease consuming turkey at Thanksgiving. In 2020, the actor teamed up with Farm Sanctuary to advertise the Turkey-Free Pledge.
“I object to animal cruelty, environmental destruction, the exploitation of slaughterhouse staff, and the deep wounds inflicted upon rural communities by the manufacturing unit farming trade,” the Farm Sanctuary pledge acknowledged. “As such, I’ll be a part of Farm Sanctuary in celebrating a compassionate Thanksgiving by leaving turkey off my dinner plate.”
Different actors who signed the pledge included Phoenix’s spouse and fellow actor and activist Rooney Mara, in addition to Edie Falco, Alan Cumming, Daisy Fuentes, and plenty of extra celebrities. Stranger Issues star Sadie Sink took issues one step additional by adopting a turkey from Farm Sanctuary.
“I hope that this vacation season, as an alternative of supporting this damaging manufacturing unit farming trade, I hope you guys will be a part of me in celebrating the lives of turkeys by adopting (Farm Sanctuary rescues) Jackie, Sandy, Tutu, Ferris, or Venus,” she mentioned on the time.
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Charlotte is a author and editor based mostly in sunny Southsea on England’s southern coast.
