Here is a Thanksgiving letter FARM sent to 850 radio
news directors and talk shows. Please feel free to forward to your own
local radio stations.
* * * * *
Dear Producer:
With profound apologies to David Letterman, here are the
latest Top Ten reasons to skip the turkey on Thanksgiving:
10. You'll be able to dance circles around bloated,
cholesterol-dazed Uncle Ned.
9. You won't have to call the Poultry Hot Line for safety instructions.
8. Fruits and vegetables don't carry government warning labels.
7. You won't wonder what the turkey died of.
6. You are what you eat. Who wants to be a "butterball"?
5. Commercial turkeys are too fat to have sex. It could happen to you.
4. Giblets - the heart, liver, gizzard, neck, wing, and the like, of a
fowl.
3. Animal rights activists will serenade you.
2. Rush Limbaugh won't invite himself over.
1. You won't be sending a mixed message to your kids.
All right, so it's a gimmick to get your attention.
What's really "cool" is that millions of vegetarians across the US will
be observing this Thanksgiving without a turkey.
In homes, churches, community centers, and hotel
ballrooms across the US, they will replace the wretched carcass of the
sacrificial turkey with a guilt-free, wholesome, delicious spread. The
bill of fare may include lentil or nut roast, stuffed squash, corn
chowder or chestnut soup, candied yams, pumpkin or pecan pie, and carrot
cake.
(See www.vsdc.org/calendar.html#Thanksgiving.)
Plant-based eating is becoming increasingly popular as
Americans discover the health, environmental, and ethical benefits of
kicking the meat habit. More than 30 million Americans have explored
meatless eating, and one in three teens thinks vegetarianism is "cool".
Mainstream health advocacy groups are touting plant-based diets, and
major food manufacturers and retailers are marketing meatless meals. The
meat industry is in retreat, facing reduced government subsidies,
stricter pollution standards, rising operating costs, and shrinking
domestic markets. It's the stuff of an exciting, provocative interview.
What do vegetarians eat on Thanksgiving? How do they
handle family situations? How did the Thanksgiving turkey tradition get
started? Why does a turkey receive a presidential pardon? Why do 40
million turkeys never reach the slaughterhouse? Why do turkey carcasses
carry government warning labels? Why is US turkey production dropping?
So now, what do I eat? What events are planned in my area?
And here are a few of the many articulate, entertaining
speakers available:
* Casey Kasem, popular radio and television host
* Howard Lyman, cattle rancher turned vegetarian activist, author of Mad
Cowboy
* Neal Barnard, MD, physician, author of Food for Life and Eat Right,
Live Longer
* Karen Davis, PhD, author of Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs and
Instead of Chicken
* Alex Hershaft, PhD, founder of FARM and the Great American Meatout
A quick call to me at 808-575-7694 will get you a guest,
a date, and a list of provocative questions. You and your listeners will
be forever grateful, I promise.
Sincerely, Laurelee Blanchard, Director of
Communications
Source: FARM - 1-888-ASK FARM, www.farmusa.org
Email: Farmusa@erols.com
Go on to Fur Free Friday
Return to 17 November 1999 Issue
Return to Newsletters
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been
specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this
not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the
copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your
own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner.
