Happy Turkey Day?

Sometimes it's overwhelming, having your consciousness raised, being aware of the despicable atrocities suffered by non-human animals at the hands of human animals--all in the name of tradition and satisfying our palates. Ironically, it's during the holiday season, a time of joy and supposed tidings of peace that living with this consciousness is most painful. We are bombarded with images of dead turkeys everywhere we look, and often on the tables of our family gatherings. It's become acceptable these days to say "Happy Turkey Day" instead of "Happy Thanksgiving." Someone actually wished me a "Happy Turkey Day" today and I nearly choked on my response. I know I once participated unawares, but it's so difficult for me now as I recognize the inconsistency of gathering in a spirit of joy and gratitude and celebration, all while tearing apart the flesh of a being whose life was cut short in a vicious act of murder for the sake of tradition.

Vegetarians and vegans often dread the impending holidays, rather than wait in joyful anticipation. As if dead animal flesh wasn't all around us in TV commercials and on billboards and at the stores where we shop and in our co-workers lunches already, we now have to deal with having dead turkeys shoved down our metaphorical throats. I recently had a friend send me the following text message: "Am feeling dead turkey overwhelm! May have to go into hiding til January!" Another broke down in tears having been put on turkey-stocking duty at his otherwise enjoyable job at the grocery store where he works. "They're just packed in boxes and thrown around like they're nothing... but they're not nothing," he said.

Few family gatherings don't involve a dead bird as the centerpiece of their holiday celebration. Vegetarians and vegans are forced to make very difficult choices this time of year. Some choose to gather with their families and eat whatever is available without flesh or secretions, or bring some of their own food, living with the discomfort and, for some, emotional pain and trauma of sitting at a table with a carcass as centerpiece. Others choose to forgo the family meal and gather with family after dinner or not at all. Still others decide to take on the job of hosting and preparing the holiday meal for their families to ensure that it meets their standards of compassion and non-violence. I count my blessings that my family doesn't gather for Thanksgiving and my husband's family is going out of town this year. Christmas is another story, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Saturday night, some friends of ours hosted a vegan Thanksgiving potluck dinner at their yoga center. That was my family Thanksgiving. I am grateful I could gather with friends and meet new like-minded people. The serenity and gratification of gathering around delicious plant-based foods, knowing that all of it was thoughtfully prepared by people who truly strive to embody compassion, peace and a life of non-violence, is almost indescribable.

I love my family of origin and my friends, but it's not my job to make them feel good about their choices. I have made the decision to decline any dinner invitations--from family or friends--that involve dead animals as the centerpiece, whether that be turkeys, pigs, chickens or otherwise. We all have to draw the line somewhere, and that is my line. I cannot make their choices for them. I also cannot pretend to be unaffected by their choices. It is painful for me to be exposed to these practices, and so I must choose not to participate. Last year at Christmas I did ask my sister to basically hide the meat she felt she needed to prepare in a dish, rather than make a centerpiece of a carcass, and she did accommodate. I have many friends who are still animal eaters who at least have the courtesy to make our communal meals vegetarian--and often vegan--for the comfort of all. They understand that when the food is plant-based, everyone may enjoy it and feel at ease. These people are very much my family.

It can be difficult to find our voice, speak our truth, and care for our own needs when we are so outnumbered and marginalized. I am curious how others navigate the oblivious world around them, especially during this time of year. Where do you draw the line? Has that changed for you over the years? What are your holiday survival strategies? I welcome your responses...

PETA says, "Breast Is Best!"

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) recently sent a letter to Ben & Jerry's urging them to consider using human breast milk instead of cow's milk to make their ice-cream. When I first heard about this, I was reading about it on a number of feminist blogs, and then last night they mentioned it on "Weekend Update" on SNL. Everyone seems to be taking this request very seriously.

Now, while I'm a vegan, I've never been a PETA member or supporter. Their campaigns have often been controversial, sometimes sexist, and many times very aggressive and off-putting. I personally affiliate with MFA (Mercy For Animals), an organization which tends to take a much gentler and more peaceful, educational and less controversial approach. I have deeply ambivalent feelings about some of the campaigns PETA has put forward. However, I do think PETA has done some great work and I'm not willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The cause they fight for is real and important. They truly speak for those who are unable to speak for themselves.

Anyway, my first reaction when I heard about this request was, "Wow! That's great! Maybe it'll make people think about what they're eating when they eat ice-cream and all the other dairy products they consume everyday." And then, regarding all the hoopla and outrage I thought, "You've got to be kidding--I know PETA couldn't have been serious... could they?" I just simply could not believe that they were making a serious request. It seemed like something completely crazy and out there that was meant to make a point and make people think. And now that I've looked into it a little, I'm even more certain. Of course if this request were meant to be taken seriously it would be very upsetting. It's true that this would disproportionately exploit already economically disadvantaged women. It would take nourishing food from the mouths of the children the milk was produced to feed. Of course. I think that's the whole point.

On the peta blog page, they updated information with Ben and Jerry's response: "In response to our letter, Ben and Jerry's issued the following statement: "We applaud PETA's novel approach to bringing attention to an issue, but we believe a mother's milk is best used for her child." Hey, guys, that's our point: Cow's milk is for baby cows." PETA is very clear about their assertion that using human breast milk to make ice cream is absurd. I'm afraid people have completely missed the satirical quality of this request. Please, read your Swift, people! Remember A Modest Proposal?

Cows are sentient beings who feel pain, both physical and emotional. Mothers cry when their babies die or are taken from them. On real farms (which are few and far between) cows will rally to support a mother cow who has lost her calf and is in mourning. Cows are naturally peaceful creatures. But we humans have taken them and imprisoned them in factory farms where they are tortured daily. They are forced to unnaturally produce far more milk than their bodies were made to produce. We take their babies from them and torture them for several weeks, depriving them of their mothers' milk and purposely keeping them malnourished, before killing them to feed them (veal) to privileged people. It's completely sick.

Let's please remember that most of the groups that we belong to and/or fight with/for can, to some extent, speak up and fight for themselves. Animals cannot. It's not just the men oppressing the women, the whites oppressing the people of color, the rich oppressing the poor, the straights oppressing the gays... It is human beings oppressing, exploiting, and torturing billions of animals each year for their own selfish desires. Gandhi said, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." We pretty much suck.

Nobody is saying that what is currently done to cows should be done to human women and human babies. I think what they're saying is, "Hey! Cows milk is for baby cows!" Get it?

Links:
Smite Me! blog

The Meatrix

Human Diet and Its Effects on Natural Ecosystems

Mercy For Animals

Biblical Vegetarianism