Turkeys—and PETA—Dish Up Timely Food for Thought in the Valley
For Immediate Release:
November 17, 2021
Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382
Now that 47% of Americans want to incorporate more vegan foods into their meals—and after PETA caught workers beating turkeys sold by companies with “humanely raised” labels—PETA is kicking off a bird-friendly “ThanksVegan” by handing out free Tofurky feasts to passersby on Friday.
When: Friday, November 19, 4–6 p.m.
Where: Outside Trader Joe’s and Sprouts, between 2050 and 2060 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa
The group will also stream its previously banned TV commercial featuring a little girl who says grace before her family’s Thanksgiving dinner—and turns her prayer into a graphic description of the ways in which turkeys suffer in the meat industry—before football games this Sunday and on the holiday.
“When people realize that turkeys love their families, feel pain and fear, and value their lives, they’re eager to put a Tofurky on the table,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA offers recipes, shopping tips, and more so that everyone can enjoy a delicious ThanksVegan meal that leaves gentle birds in peace.”
Turkeys can live up to 10 years, but those raised for food are usually slaughtered when they’re between 12 and 26 weeks old—and millions are killed each year for Thanksgiving alone. The young birds are hung by their feet from metal shackles and dragged through an electrified bath, and they’re often still conscious when their throats are slit and they’re dumped into scalding-hot defeathering tanks.
Shoppers can find ready-to-roast vegan turkeys at Safeway, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Costco, Sprouts, and Whole Foods, and restaurants from coast to coast will highlight their #ThanksVegan menus. This includes Arizona favorites Green New American Vegetarian, with locations in Phoenix and Tempe, and Lovin’ Spoonfuls in Tucson.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
