Like or hate the turkey, but don’t spoil the fest!

While Brits save their festive turkey for December the 25th, their Yankee mates across the pond gobble them down in their millions for Thanksgiving in America (around 46 million to be precise).

Some love it, others hate it - the majority of us just contend with it. Turkeys are very difficult to cook too; they are large, take far too much time in the oven, and you are often left with a mixture of soggy meat and a rough cardboard texture. No wonder we eat them only once or twice a year, but tradition, often takes over our taste buds.

But flying over to The White House in Washington DC, two turkeys will have a lucky escape. This is because every year the president of the United States is presented with two prize broad breasted white birds from the National Turkey Federation. The strange ceremony, debatably, dates back to the 1940’s, (with originally just one turkey) with leaders occasionally sparing the animal’s life. Decades later, and the annual turkey pardoning event became set in stone in 1989, with President George H.W. Bush, deciding to mock “pardon” not one, but two turkeys (as one would be a theatrical understudy) sending them to a local children’s farm instead of the White House kitchens. It is America, the home of Hollywood after all!

But maybe it’s best to stick with pumpkin pie.... as animal lovers are no longer impressed. Welfare charity PETA call the event “stupid, pointless, and innately ironic” questioning that the ceremony that “promotes an industry that wreaks havoc on the health of the American public, contributes to environmental devastation, and abuses millions of animals every year”.

And thus the traditional Thanksgiving Turkey is now thrust into the ethical spotlight. Beneath the flashing of lights, cameras and laughing presidents lies questions surrounding the upbringing, handling and abuse of these poor birds to the issue of mass climate change. The PC brigade have announced that eating turkey is bad and we must feel guilty!

With many outraged towards the millions of tortured turkeys - it’s not just the US president in the White House Rose garden that’s sparing the lives of these funny looking feathery friends. With a vegan meat free Thanksgivings becoming more popular, #IPardonedMyTurkey hashtag is also gaining popularity too.

But with the social justice warriors and the eco minded telling us what we can or can’t eat, wear and breathe…every celebration we now have becomes a slightly tedious affair of finger pointing, online rants, outrage and blame.

Whether you prefer the traditional Thanksgiving turkey or something else, respect the choice and don’t ruin the fest with nonsensical outrage.

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