As we all know, I’m not one for skipping Holidays. It frustates the heck out of me when I walk into a store that’s all fancied up for Christmas/Yule/Chanukka/Festivus and all other holidays on or around Winter Solstice before we’ve even hit Halloween (or even Patriot Day in some cases!).
But I’m breaking my cardinal rule and skipping ahead a holiday. This skipping, however is necessary and is only preparatory. Heaven knows I would never fully gloss over Halloween/Samhain! But poor Thanksgiving really gets short shrift anyway, being sandwiched right between Halloween and the Soltstice holidays.
Why start thinking about Thanksgiving so far ahead of time? Honestly, I should have been thinking about it a few months ago and I totally dropped the ball. The answer is simple: TURKEY!
Thanksgiving is a holiday that supposedly centers around giving thanks, but we all know what it really centers around, at least culturally: Meat. Turkey meat, to be more precise.
Just because turkey is a less popular poultry meat than chicken in no way means they escape the sick horror of factory farms. Every year, hundreds of millions of turkeys are raised in sickening, tourturous conditions in factory farms.
I, for one, cannot stomach the idea of sitting around a warm family table discussing all the blessings in life that we are greatful for only to celebrate those blessings by feasting on an animal that lived its entire life in painful, sickening, deplorable conditions. That is just simply WRONG.
But I really don’t think I can get the fam on board with a meat free Thanksgiving this year, and I also don’t see it as necessary. We still eat meat occassionally. Probably about 3 times a month. But we restrict ourselves from humanely raised meat from local farms.
So I set out on a mission to find a humanely raised turkey for our Thanksgiving feast, and it looks like we’re in luck. I found this awesome site: Eat Wild. Eat wild provides state by state information (with maps) on TONS of humane farms, many of which will even ship meat to you. Not only was I able to find turkey, I also found pork, beef, chicken, eggs (not that we need any), and goats. And I’m sure that’s just scratching the surface. It is a GREAT SITE.
I highly recommend everyone check out Eat Wild. You might just be surprise by what you find in your area. I know I was. Before I found Eat Wild, I only knew of one or two local humane meat producers, turns out there are tons.
Now, in all honesty, I should have started looking for a turkey earlier in the year. Some of the farms start taking reservations for the turkeys back in June when the turkeys are babies. But I’ve sent emails to a number of farms to see what’s available. And if I can’t find anything in the state, I can always click Eat Wild‘s “Farms That Ship” link and find a farm that might be able to ship me a humanely raised turkey.
Where are YOU getting your turkey this year? Or are you even having a turkey? How are you going to make your Thanksgiving a day of thanks not just for you, but for all the animals and humans who played a role in bringing your food to your table?
And be sure to check out the recipes site for lots of Thanksgiving deliciousness before and after the day!
@tejbee: Boston Market does a great job! When I was in college, my partnes came to visit and I ordered the turkey, potatoes, stuffing and pies from a grocery store who cooked it all and I picked it up before my partnes got there. All they had to do was carve the turkey. Dad had no clue. Mom was in on it. 🙂
Great post. I don’t eat meat, but I always encourage my family get buy any and all of their food products from the best sources. One thing that is wonderful about Spain is their food culture. Far more ethical than the U.S.
I will be in Madrid for Thanksgiving this year… not sure what I’ll do just yet. I have NEVER been away from my family for this holiday so I will be sure to make it special.
Wow, cool post! Thanks for sharing with all of us! Also, thanks for stopping by and leaving a sweet comment. I hope you see a little bit of Fall in your area soon. 😉 Have a great weekend!
We don’t do turkey. For several years we were both vegetarians, so we had no concerns, but even now that I eat meat, I can’t stomach the thought of Thanksgiving turkeys. It’s disgusting. I looked into a humanely raised bird last year, but it was SO expensive (compared to, say, the hormone-injected-caged-factory-farmed monstrosities from Butterball) that we just continue to go without. I’m not in love with turkey meat anyway, so we don’t mind a bit.
@yoursilverlining: That is amazing! What a wdnferoul thing to do!We will be going to a friend’s for Thanksgiving so no turkey making for me. I’m doing an apple pie and a pumpkin cheese cake. And my friend for some reason hates making mashed potates so I’m in charge of those too. Which is super easy now that I have my stand mixer!
I’ve battled with this after being told about a documentary that I cannot remember the name of to save my life right now. It’s just so hard to find clean food. I’ll have to go check this out, thanks for sharing!
My husband and I cook Thanksgiving diennr every year for a homeless veteran’s shelter in our town (it’s a home vs. a large shelter, so there are usually 8-12 veterans there for the diennr).We will make:TurkeyGravyStuffingMashed potatoesGreen bean casseroleMac and CheeseCranberry sauceRoasted veggies (squash, yams, asparagus)Dinner rollsPies (and maybe cookies)Basket of hot cocoa/tea/coffee/other goodiesWe make all that Wednesday/Thursday morning, then head up to my parents house, where my mom makes our Thanksgiving diennr every year. Only thing I will bring to that is green bean casserole, because my mom hates it and refuses to make it haha
I am also hosting 19 peolpe!!!! I’m really excited though since I love to cook. Plus if I cook then I don’t have to clean pre or post guests, which I view as a total win.This year I’m trying something different and I’m going to use apples, cinnamon sticks, onions, sage, and rosemary as my aromatics, so the house should smell amazing!
This is awesome colleen, thanks for posting it. I have been having a hard time finding “ethical” meat..even the grocery stores ignore my questions. I am off to check it out!