global.christianpost.com - November 14th, 2011
This Thanksgiving, millions of Christian families will thank the Lord for their friends, family and food before enjoying a home-cooked turkey. However, if the turkey is one of the approximately 40 million factory-raised turkeys that will be consumed on Thanksgiving this year, some Christians believe that purchasing that turkey equals making a contribution to a multi-billion dollar industry of slaughter, shame and sin.
The life of the average factory-farm turkey is brutal and short in order to maximize profits, according to various reports on the inner-workings of factories operated by Butterball and other leading poultry producers. Hatched in large incubators, turkeys are moved directly from eggs to sheds where they are crammed into a confined space with thousands of other turkeys. In order to prevent the turkeys from pecking at each other, their beaks are seared off with a hot blade that cuts through the cartilage and nerves.
Once debeaked, turkeys are pumped full of hormones in order to get them as big as possible in the shortest amount of time. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), in 1970, the average weight of a turkey raised for meat was 17 pounds. Today, with the help of hormones and genetic engineering, the average turkey weight is 28 pounds. The heavy weight sometimes causes turkeys' legs to break from the pressure, as well as heart and organ failure, causing many to die. In addition, turkeys are simply too fat to procreate, so factory farm turkeys are impregnated through artificial insemination.
There have also been several instances of abuse and torture on turkeys caused by employees, including throwing the birds against the walls, stomping on their necks, and even forcefully pulling eggs from their insides. There are several disturbing videos on YouTube taken by undercover animal rights activists who have worked at factory farms to record the abuse.
1 comment:
Great post.It's time we all gave serious consideration to the many issues about food production!Food for thought...
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