As part of our Thanksgiving celebration this year, our little family sponsored a turkey at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.  We plan to do this each year going forward as well.  We didn’t get to spend much time with the turkeys when we visited (thus the photo of the turkey hanging out with the pigs), but, especially as he gets older, I imagine it will be fun for Roman to meet them and then pick a specific one to sponsor in honor of the holiday.  What am I saying?  It’ll be fun for us too!

On one hand, we’ve decided to form this very fun tradition out of a positive desire to contribute to something good.  On the other, it is undeniably a response to some not-so-fun truths about this time of year.

Did you know that 46 million turkeys are killed each year for Thanksgiving alone?  46 million individual birds.  We fondly refer to this holiday as “Turkey Day,” but it is hardly a day for them to celebrate.

I’m not going to go into how smart and curious these animals are and detail everything they must endure to wind up on our plates, because several other people have already done this, and well.  Below are links to a few worthwhile reads, as well as an adorable video of some serious turkey talk.  I strongly encourage you to click through, read, and watch.  (At the very least, watch the video–it’s seriously adorable!)

12 Reasons You May Never Want to Eat Turkey Again

Farm Sanctuary Reveals 10 Fascinating Facts About Turkeys

Black Thursday: The Darkest Season for Turkeys

Sponsor a Rescued Turkey for the Holidays (a letter from Jenny Brown, Executive Director of WFAS)

It may be tradition to have a dead turkey as the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving meal, but all traditions began somewhere (plus, aren’t we inundated each year with reminders that turkeys weren’t even eaten at the first Thanksgiving?).  Might I humbly suggest a new tradition: one with an abundance of delicious plants spread across the table.  And perhaps that tradition could even include helping to support a real, live turkey instead? I’ll bet the photo you receive of the one you’ve sponsored would make a lovely centerpiece.