10 Reasons Not to Eat Turkey This Thanksgiving

When the Thanksgiving season rolls around, people just naturally think that it's a reason to eat turkey. We've all been indoctrinated into the tradition of meat-eating to such a degree that we've become accustomed to it. We fail to see the cruelty, the lack of compassion, and the basic stupidity of continuing to eat meat. The truth is that the turkey is a naturally intelligent, playful and sociable animal. There are plenty of other reasons to go vegetarian this Thanksgiving.

Turkeys experience pain and suffering.

And in factory farms, they sure to experience massive amounts. The factory farm might as well be called an abuse farm, given the way that the animals are treated. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Humane Society of the United States, turkeys are not protected from abuse under federal law. Their toes and beaks are cut off without anesthesia in order to prevent fighting and reduce injuries. Many turkeys are regularly beaten, mutilated and otherwise abused by factory workers, and are when they go to slaughter, they're dunked in scalding hot water while they're still alive and fully conscious for feather removal.

Turkeys are raised in extremely filthy conditions.

They are housed in windowless sheds, and the incredible quantity of feces which builds up forces the turkeys to breathe ammonia their entire lives, burning their skin, throats and lungs. The bird flu which has killed many people exists in humans because wild birds pass the virus to domesticated fowl, which then mutates and can be spread to people who come in contact with an infected bird. Other dangerous organisms such as E. coli and Salmonella do not visibly sicken animals on the farm, yet can be passed to humans in contaminated meat. Some strains of these bacteria are highly virulent and antibiotic resistant. This is in large part because turkeys raised on factory farms are drugged with antibiotics their entire lives in order to prevent disease and speed their growth.

The USDA rules regarding turkeys are not sufficient to protect consumers from disease.