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That Turkey Isn't All That Ethical
Caitlin Chock | Monday 16th November 2009
 Out with the bird and in with the Tofurkey?! Okay, you may think that this is an almost criminal suggestion or shudder at the thought of removing the staple that is turkey from your Thanksgiving day feast from the table. But before you grab your fork and head for that piece of thigh meat consider what I have to say. I'm sure it's not a huge shock that Thanksgiving constitutes one of the greatest days of turkey consumption each year, and in the United States alone that can be upwards of 45 million gobblers! Take that and then add this: the meat industry is a black hole for greenhouse gas emissions. In being a more ethical shopper, you may do well to sing the praises of soy meat, or a vegetarian entree.How in the world could your turkey be contributing to global warming you may ask? Well this is due to a few different reasons. Firstly, the amount of grain that is fed to turkeys around the world is astronomical. In fact, it was documented in a study at Cornell University, that a whopping 40% of the world's grain supply does not go to any human source, but instead down the gullet of turkeys. And of course what goes in, must come out, and in going through their natural processes, these turkeys are responsible for soil erosion and other land altering effects. Further, these birds are drinking up a large amount of water, and this of course is in a supply that is not everlasting. But perhaps the worse offender of turkey day mayhem is with the shipping and transportation of all of these birds. Whether they be hauled uptown or across the country, the vast amount of carbon gas emitted from these treks is only adding to our global warming problems. In fact 18% of carbon gas emissions stems from the meat industry and their shipping endeavors. Okay, so what is an ethical consumer to do? The answer may not be to your liking, and the result may not be pretty when it comes feed time around your own Thanksgiving table. But bear in mind that sometime when you're going green, you've got to take one for the team: Captain Plant's Team that is. (Sorry, couldn't resist the shout out to this AWESOME cartoon show of days past.) Be a more ethical shopper, picking up a replacement for the gobbler such as the previously noted Tofurkey or other meat replacement. There are chilis to choose from, and plenty of recipes to find that substitute meat for their main ingredient. In fact, today many of these products are so tasty that if you don't publicize it not everyone has to know that they are in fact ingesting a bird impersonator! |
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Kathie Repath 4 December 2009 I think it would be interesting to learn whether Turkey has a higher carbon footprint (and other footprints) per pound delivered dressed than chicken.
In any case it's definitely better to cut back on meat in general. But not everyone is ready to go cold turkey, so perhaps traditional settler bean soups four nights a week is a good trade for the organic free range turkey at holidays that we really love much more than spongy and salty Tofurkey? |
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Caitlin Chock 25 November 2009 Hehe...yea, I'm sure the first Thanksgiving was without mountains of mashed potatoes laden with butter and pumpkin pie with a side of high fructose corn syrup and refined sugar! ;)
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Melissa Anderson-Hinn 22 November 2009 You know, historically, Turkey had NOTHING to do with Thanksgiving nor did any of the other things that people eat for Thanksgiving.
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Caitlin Chock Is blogging |
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