by Randy Atlas -
[email protected]
Animal Rights Online Website Coordinator
[Editor's Note: This letter was written to Steve Case,
head of America Online (AOL) and his staff.]
Dear AOL Holidays,
As a vegetarian, I feel uncomfortable and offended when
the term "Turkey Day" is used to reference the Thanksgiving holiday, as
was the case in this e-mail sent to AOL subscribers. Thanksgiving is
supposed to be a harvest festival, and the feast does not have to be
centered around a dead bird. People can easily enjoy delicious, healthy
vegetarian Thanksgiving meals consisting of a wealth of foods from the
earth -- fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, etc. -- rather than having
to follow a "tradition" of giving thanks while consuming a former fellow
living being who suffered a horrible death in a filthy, bloody, crowded,
noisy (from the screams of the animals) slaughterhouse.
This will be my 15th vegetarian Thanksgiving. I don't
miss having turkey, or any slaughtered animal(s), at the dinner table.
Fortunately, here in my hometown of Buffalo, NY, we have an annual
vegetarian potluck Thanksgiving dinner, at which people can celebrate
the harvest season and give thanks in a nonviolent, cruelty-free manner.
(Actually, the feast is vegan--meaning it is free of all animal
products, including meat, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.) Each year this event
is an overwhelming success.
Prior to my receiving an education about what happens to
animals "raised for food," I would sometimes use the expression "Turkey
Day" come Thanksgiving time. Now the term has a completely different
meaning to me. I feel it is a reminder of, and a memorial to, the
millions of turkeys who lose their lives when Thanksgiving comes around,
simply for the dining pleasure of Americans. A little bit of information
can go a long way!
It would have been nice to see an item about having a
vegetarian Thanksgiving included in your AOL Holiday e-mail. I ask that
you please think about what I've said in this e-mail, and consider
publishing a vegetarian article in next year's edition. (Or, how about
an article about vegetarian Christmas/Hannukah/other winter holiday
feasts?)
Sincerely,
Randy Atlas
[email protected]
P.S. -
For more information on turkeys and other animals raised for slaughter,
please see the following web sites:
United Poultry Concerns [UPC] -
www.upc-online.org
Farm Sanctuary
www.farmsanctuary.org
Go on to My Vegan
Kitties
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