Modern turkey farms aren't as bad as they used to be. Our family camped near La Grange when our kids were young and you could smell the turkey farms miles before you came to them. Should have been enough to turn the appetite away from turkey. It didn't, though.
In the 1980's I did an article about a turkey ranch on Highway 4 near Farmington. I was impressed at how clean it was. Ranchers feed people economically and turkey raising doesn't use up the resources that beef and pork do. Except for their feed. Corn raising produces a blight on the earth from the massive amount of fertilizer used to grow corn.
Now I choose to shop my turkey at a free range turkey farm. No smell. The birds are lively, clean and happy, given their short future. I'm sure they are corn fed.
I'm supposedly getting wiser. I know the day is coming, in my lifetime, when population demands and resources, already feeling the strain, are going to produce a new way of living with less meat, or no meat in our diets. My vegan friends are adamant the time to change is NOW.
I'm reminded of two things, when Native Americans hunted, they always thanked the animal for its contribution to their health and blessed its spirit. And, I'm reminded of a man who was way ahead of his time. He said:
The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.
Leonardo da Vinci
I thank my turkey for being the guest of honor at my table tomorrow but I'm also wrestling with my conscience about eating meat and see myself moving closer and closer to vegetarianism.
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