This week, PETA started a national tour to promote a cruelty-free Thanksgiving. Droves of lucky San Franciscans were the first to receive free Tofurky roasts, kindly donated by Turtle Island Foods.

The only thing I can think of that would be more worthy of thanks than gobbling (sorry, had to) up a succulent, savory Tofurky—while saving the lives of turkeys—would be to get one for free. Luckily for you, our turkeys are strutting their way through cities across the country and giving away roasts at each stop.

Join PETA's Action Team to get updates on upcoming events in your area.

Posted by Logan Scherer

Wherever Sarah Silverman goes, she seems to leave a stream of puzzled people in her wake. Are she and longtime beau, Jimmy Kimmel, on or off today? Is she really getting it on with Matt Damon? Is she Tom Selleck's long-lost sister?

thecinemasource / CC

But there is one thing that Sarah makes very clear: She doesn't eat meat. In the November 2009 issue of Marie Claire, the comedian/actor said the following:

"When I was 9 or 10 years old, my dad took me over to a neighboring farm to help get stuff for the meal. The farmer, Vic, told me to look at all the turkeys and pick one out. I saw a cute one with a silly walk and cried, 'Him!' Before my pointing finger had even dropped to my side, Vic had grabbed the turkey by the neck and slit [the animal's] throat. Blood and feathers went flying. I had sentenced that turkey to death! Up until then, I didn't know where meat came from—and I've been a vegetarian ever since."

Consider that the sight of one turkey being killed for Thanksgiving Day dinner years ago was enough to convince Sarah to go vegetarian. Then imagine how you can help lower the body count this Thanksgiving by sharing information about Butterball's cruelty to millions of turkeys with each and every meat-eater you know.

Posted by Karin Bennett

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Quick review: A PETA investigator went undercover on Aviagen's turkey factory farms in West Virginia and gathered evidence that workers broke turkeys' necks, stomped on their heads, and shoved feces and feed into turkeys' mouths. This evidence led to the first-ever indictments for felony cruelty-to-animals charges for abusing birds, and the first-ever cruelty convictions of turkey factory-farm workers.

Aviagen's farms are spread out over multiple counties in West Virginia, which means that workers were subject to prosecution in each county where they abused or neglected these intelligent, sensitive birds. The first indictments were handed down in Greenbrier County, and now further felony indictments have been issued in Monroe County against Walter Hambrick and Scott White. White was already convicted in Greenbrier County of the cruelty he committed there, and he went to jail. Hambrick—whose charges in Greenbrier County are still pending—now faces three more felonies just a few minutes down the road.

Of course, it's easy as (eggless, nondairy) pie to stop contributing to factory farm and slaughterhouse cruelty—like the kind at Aviagen, Belcross, AgriProcessors, Pilgrim's Pride, and too many others to mention—simply by going vegetarian.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

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Then, in February, a grand jury handed down 19 indictments, including 11 felony charges, against three former Aviagen workers, marking the first time in U.S. history that factory-farm employees have faced felony cruelty-to-animals charges for abusing birds.

Fast forward: Two of the three ex-employees, Scott Alvin White and Edward Eric Gwinn, recently pleaded guilty to cruelty charges. On June 8, White was sentenced to serve one year in jail—the maximum period permitted by law! Today, Gwinn was sentenced to serve six months' home confinement—the maximum period permitted by law—on each count, concurrently, and is banned from living with, owning, and working with animals for five years. The case against the third ex-employee, Walter Lee Hambrick, is pending.

Can't get enough? In September, a grand jury in neighboring Monroe County, West Virginia, may well issue further felony indictments against White and Hambrick.

These historic victories by no means even the score for the turkeys who were punched and thrown or the many other birds who suffered when they were forced to watch as other turkeys were abused at Aviagen. After watching our undercover video, animal behavior expert Dr. Lesley J. Rogers stated, "It is now known that when social animals, like turkeys, see and hear other members of their species under stress or suffering physical injury, their levels of stress become elevated. Hence, the behavioural stress is widespread in the birds in the vicinity of those that have been injured and/or handled roughly."

Still, these convictions will remind workers on other factory farms that if they don't clean up their acts, PETA investigators (and the whistleblowers who tip us off) will have their eyes on them.

Posted by Karin Bennett

In a huge victory for animals, a grand jury has issued 19 indictments for cruelty to animals against three former employees of Aviagen Turkeys, Inc. And it gets better—11 of the indictments are on felony charges. This marks the first time in U.S. history that factory-farm employees have faced felony cruelty-to-animals charges for abusing birds.

These indictments are the result of PETA's undercover investigation at Aviagen's factory farms in West Virginia, which uncovered workers stomping, kicking, throwing, and killing turkeys in unimaginably cruel ways. Our investigator's video footage was seen by the West Virginia State Police, whose investigator then conducted his own prompt and thorough investigation, leading to these indictments in Greenbrier County. Next stop: Monroe County, where we anticipate additional charges to be filed for similar acts committed there.

It's great to see the authorities take this case seriously. But Aviagen itself? Not so much.

As you may recall, a couple of weeks back, a whistleblower told us that some of the turkey torturers were still employed by Aviagen, despite the company's promise to fire all the workers caught violating its purported animal-welfare policies. PETA's letter to the company president about this has gone unanswered. And Aviagen has refused to give any specific details about the actions it claims to have taken. So, as far as we can tell, Aviagen hasn't yet implemented even one of the seven improvements we suggested to them. If you're as riled about this as we are, please take a minute to ask Aviagen executives to stop sitting on their thumbs and take some specific steps toward preventing the continued torture of birds in the company's sheds.

Bet these indictments have got them sitting up and paying attention, though. And not just at Aviagen (I'm looking at you, Butterball, Pilgrim's Pride, and Tyson). And I suspect the charges might make those drumsticks a little harder for some folks to swallow too.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

You probably remember when we unveiled our undercover investigation of Aviagen Turkeys, Inc., right before Thanksgiving. (Those horrifying images are hard to forget.) After seeing our video footage, Aviagen claimed to be working on improvements to its animal welfare policies and promised to fire all workers who were caught violating them.

However, Aviagen has not, to PETA's knowledge, implemented any of PETA's seven recommendations for making its turkeys less miserable. On top of that, we got a call 10 days ago from a whistleblower who let us know that at least three of the workers who were videotaped stomping, kicking, throwing, and maliciously killing turkeys are still being paid to handle live turkeys on Aviagen's farms. I'd really like to say that I'm shocked, but after seeing what happens on Aviagen's dark and dusty factory farms, I don't think there's anything the company could do that would surprise me.

We've pumped a letter out to Aviagen president Jihad Douglas demanding to know why these workers are still on the company's payroll two months after PETA representatives personally provided company officials with our videotape as well as what, if any, steps the company has taken to stop cruelty to animals on its farms. Aviagen, since you seem to have no brilliant plans of your own to stop the abuse of turkeys on your factory farms, I suggest that you implement our seven-point-plan for animal welfare improvements as soon as possible.

Oh, and one more thing: Fire those workers … now!

Posted by Liz Graffeo

One of twelve men—including three supervisors—who forcefully threw turkeys into coops for transport.

This is a great, although small, step for the turkeys who are still tightly trapped in Aviagen's dark, dusty sheds—at the very least, they won't have to suffer at those individuals' hands or under their watch any longer. So far, however, Aviagen seems to have passed on the opportunity to press for a criminal investigation and prosecution of the dismissed workers. If the executives at Aviagen were really serious about cracking down on cruelty to animals, wouldn't they join us in asking officials to prosecute these individuals?

Also, Aviagen has announced that it has "outlined a series of actions" that will improve its "existing welfare guidelines" and "ensure [that] violations do not occur in [the] future." That sounds nice—but based on what the company's "existing welfare guidelines" failed to prevent, I think I'd feel a little more comfortable with some specifics, don't you? Gosh, it sure would be nice if somebody were to provide Aviagen with a list of specific steps to take to improve animal welfare—oh wait … we did.

Please help by writing a polite letter to Aviagen asking the company to implement PETA's Seven-Point Animal Welfare Plan and to call on officials to prosecute any employees—past, present or future—who abuse or neglect animals. Aviagen has made some small progress already—let's hope it continues its much-needed reforms.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope your Tofurky was excellent—I know mine was. Since it's a holiday and all, we've got a little something for you. Check out our fantastic Thanksgiving e-card below, and enjoy the rest of your day. (And don't forget … tomorrow is Fur-Free Friday!)

Posted by Christine Doré

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In this letter dispatched to the real President Bush, PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk asks him to send this year's "pardoned" turkeys to a proper Washington, D.C.–area sanctuary rather than to a theme park or working farm, where pardoned turkeys are traditionally sent and where they usually die from their painful genetic defects within the first year—or even within days of arrival.

You've probably guessed that pardoned turkeys aren't as "blessed" as this tradition hints at. Like all factory-farmed turkeys, the birds are pumped full of drugs and bred to grow so large so fast that their little legs aren't able to support their massive, unnatural size. As a result, the birds suffer crippling injuries and painful deformities—serious and sometimes fatal conditions that theme parks and working farms don't handle appropriately. Footage released earlier this month from an undercover investigation at a turkey factory farm in West Virginia shows the tremendous stress put on these birds' bodies and the pure hell these animals are put through.

So, President Bush, please give these birds a fighting chance rather than a sad show for the nation, and in return, we'll send you and your family a delicious cruelty-free Thanksgiving meal including Tofurky, meat-free stuffing, and all-American vegan apple pie with vanilla soy ice cream. Oh, and as a bonus, we'll try to forget some of your pronunciation slips and speech mishaps through the years. After all, Thanksgiving is about forgiveness and giving thanks.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

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10. If you wouldn't eat your cat, you shouldn't eat a turkey.
As poultry scientist Tom Savage says, "I've always viewed turkeys as smart animals with personality and character, and keen awareness of their surroundings. The 'dumb' tag simply doesn't fit." They're as interesting and have personalities every bit as developed as those of any dog or cat.

When they're not forced to live on filthy factory farms, turkeys spend their days caring for their young, building nests, foraging for food, taking dust baths, preening themselves, and roosting high in trees. These social, playful birds relish having their feathers stroked and like to chirp, cluck, and gobble along to their favorite tunes.

9. Factory farms deny turkeys everything that is natural and important to them.
Ben Franklin called turkeys "true American originals." He had tremendous respect for their resourcefulness, agility, and beauty. In nature, turkeys can fly 55 miles an hour, run 25 miles an hour, and live up to four years. Yet turkeys raised for food are killed when they are only 5 or 6 months old. During their short lives, they will be denied even the simplest pleasures, such as running, building nests, and raising their young.

8. Turkey consumption might kill you.
Turkey flesh is brimming with fat and cholesterol. Just one homemade patty of ground, cooked turkey meat contains a whopping 244 mg of cholesterol, and half of its calories come from fat. Turkey flesh is also frequently tainted with salmonella, campylobacter bacteria, and other contaminants. And a vegan meal won't leave you sprawled on the couch, belt buckle undone, barely able to move.

7. You may stave off bird flu apocalypse.
Current factory-farm conditions are breeding grounds for disease. Turkeys are drugged and bred to grow so quickly that many become crippled and die from dehydration. Cooking meat should kill the bird flu virus, but it can be left behind on cutting boards and utensils and spread through something else you're eating.

6. Don't support their crack habit.
Dosing turkeys with antibiotics to stimulate their growth and to keep them alive in filthy, disease-ridden conditions that would otherwise kill them poses even more risks for people who eat them. Leading health organizations—including the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, and the American Public Health Association—have warned that the factory farming industry is possibly creating long-term risks to human health through the spread of antibiotic-resistant supergerms. That's why the use of drugs to promote growth in animals used for food has been banned for many years in Europe.

5. There are healthy, humane alternatives.
Everyone can give thanks for animal-friendly holiday meals such as Tofurky, Celebration Roast, and Garden Protein's new Veggie Turkey Breast With Wild Rice and Cranberry Stuffing. PETA's scrumptious holiday recipes will please every palate and make it easier to give up the giblets.

4. Eating birds supports cruelty to animals.
When the time comes for slaughter, turkeys are thrown into transport trucks. At the slaughterhouse, they are hung upside-down and their heads are dragged through an electrified "stunning tank," which immobilizes them but does not kill them. Many birds dodge the tank and are still conscious when their throats are cut. If the knife fails to properly cut the birds' throats, the birds are scalded to death in the defeathering tanks.

3. Turkey consumption is bad for the environment.
Turkeys and other animals raised for food produce 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population—all without the benefit of waste-treatment systems. There are no federal guidelines to regulate how factory farms treat, store, and dispose of the trillions of pounds of concentrated, untreated animal excrement that they produce each year.

2. Turkey farming contributes to human starvation.
Turkeys have to be fed grains, soy, oats, and corn that could otherwise be fed to human beings. Only a fraction of the calories fed to a turkey are turned into meat calories. While there is ample and justified moral indignation about the diversion of 100 million tons of grain for biofuels, more than seven times as much (760 million tons) is fed to farmed animals so that people can eat meat. Is the diversion of crops to our cars a moral issue? Yes, but it's about one-eighth the issue that meat-eating is.

And the number one reason to give the birds a break:

1. Factory-farmed turkeys have nothing to be thankful for.
On factory farms, turkeys live for months in sheds where they are packed so tightly that flapping a wing or stretching a leg is nearly impossible. They stand mired in waste; urine and ammonia fumes burn their eyes and lungs. To keep the birds from killing one another in these crowded conditions, parts of the turkeys' toes and beaks are cut off, as are the males' snoods (the flap of skin under the chin). All this is done without any pain relievers.

A PETA investigator recently went undercover at a massive turkey-breeding facility in West Virginia and documented workers stomping on turkeys, punching them, beating them with pipes and boards, and twisting their necks repeatedly. One worker even bragged about shoving a broomstick down a turkey's throat because the bird had pecked at him. Our previous investigations show that such gratuitous abuse is the norm on turkey farms.

Check out VegCooking.com for tasty alternatives that will allow the turkeys to give thanks this Holiday season along with you and your family.

Happy eating!

Posted by Bruce Friedrich

The moose-hunting, fur-wearing, pro-aerial-wolf-gunning governor is in the news again. On Thursday, Sarah Palin visited a turkey farm in Wasilla for the traditional pre-Thanksgiving turkey "pardoning." Now, most people probably don't think about exactly how the turkeys raised for Thanksgiving dinner every year meet their maker. But not to worry. Sarah has that under control. In this video, while responding to a reporter who asks about her post-election plans, Palin talks about how she wants to "promote a local business" and do something that won't "invite criticism." While turkeys are being slaughtered. Behind her. ON CAMERA.

Was that one of those "gotcha" questions, Sarah? Because it seems to me that showing the bloody reality of slaughter is just about the worst thing you could do to promote this business. Some people just won't want to eat turkey after watching—especially when this happened the day after PETA released new undercover video from the world's leading poultry-breeding facility. In that video, workers stomp on turkeys' heads, punch them, and bang their heads against metal scaffolding.

This is a country of people who love animals—in fact, numerous polls show that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe that farmed animals deserve protection from abuse. The more that people are confronted with the ways that animals who are raised for food suffer—from the moment they're born until the moment they're killed—the more that people will start thinking about giving vegetarian meals a try. And then the factory farming industry will need a bigger bailout than the "Big Three."

Posted by Dan Shannon

P.S.—Sarah Palin should take a cue from our own "President Bush," whose turkey-pardoning this year really was a "mission accomplished."

It's a chilly South Dakota afternoon. You and a friend are scheduled to help save turkeys from a horrible fate at the latest head-turning PETA demo, but your sexy pilgrim costumes have yet to arrive. How do you resolve this nail-biter? Do you (A) go home and have vegan hazelnut hot cocoa? (A cop-out, yes, but oh-so-scrumptious.) Or (B) take matters into your own hands and get all fashionista on it?

Well our down-for-the-count campaigners were certainly not to be put off by some teeny trifle like not having any supplies for their demo. Pshaw! Thinking fast and on their stilettoed feet, they trotted off to the nearest Target and whipped up these stylish numbers.

Impressive, n'est pas?

By the time the original costumes showed up, the turkey-defending tour-de-force was already in full swing! And, as you can see, suited up in their proper gear, our resilient campaigners are keeping it going.

So bonnets off to you pilgrim beauties. You've defended turkeys with your craftiness rain or shine—and all the while in heels! You can also see the pilgrims in action here.

Posted by Missy Lane

Cooking Mama World Kitchen includes more than 25 vegetarian-friendly recipes including delicious breakfast, dinner, dessert and snack options. And, while Mama is not a vegetarian, she fully supports the humane treatment of animals, particularly for her canine protégé Max who makes his doggie debut in World Kitchen.

Majesco even pulled Mama from the kitchen to get her thoughts on the matter. "I would never put rat in my Ratatouille," said Mama. "Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences. My only goal is to ensure you leave the table well fed."

Now that I know I have Mama's attention:

Dearest Mama,

On behalf of everyone who worked on Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals, The Unauthorized PETA Edition, I wholeheartedly want to thank you for the hours of enjoyment you have provided us through your various Cooking Mama games. We played and studied them as we prepared our lighthearted parody of your successful series.

Based on your and Majesco's good-natured responses to PETA's game, I think you understand that although we made you into a demonic, knife-wielding maniac in Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals, we still love you. While we had a good time roasting you, the real purpose of our game, of course, was to bring to light some of the horrific practices of the turkey industry. And we mean the animals who are actually mistreated—not the virtual ones you cook up in your digital kitchen. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that, as a result of our game, tens of thousands of people have watched undercover footage from turkey factory farms, and hundreds of thousands have been exposed to the idea that how we treat animals matters.

It's great to hear that you want to "make the world a happier place," because that's pretty much what we want to do too (though it seems that we might have different tactics …). I do hope that you seriously consider making a vegetarian diet a part of your strategy for world happiness. By adopting a vegetarian diet, you can save more than 100 animals per year. Plus, vegetarians live longer and have a considerably lower carbon footprint. I know that—as you are a digital being—these benefits don't exactly apply to you, but I still urge you to take the pledge to be veg for 30 days.

Even if you don't take the plunge into the wonderful world of vegetarianism yourself, I still hope that you will consider making a vegetarian-only Cooking Mama game. There is such a variety of international cuisine, including Indian, Thai, Japanese, and Middle Eastern cuisine, with an abundance of vegetarian and vegan options for you and your followers to explore.

If you do decide to move forward with Cooking Mama: Vegetarian Kitchen please contact us so that we can help promote your game to our over 2 million members and supporters. I already look forward to playing it!

Best,

Joel Bartlett
Assistant Director of Marketing
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

P.S. Please give Max a big hug from everyone at PETA!

Posted by Joel Bartlett

One of four men who was seen stomping on turkeys' heads

We have a brand-new investigation of a turkey factory farm, and we wanted to let the investigator introduce it to you himself. See what he has to say, then please check out the video.

The alarm clock on my cell blares out at 1 a.m. I twist in pain. It can't be time to get up yet. I hit the snooze button twice. Finally I roll over and rub my face with my hands, feeling the calloused-over blisters scratching my cheeks. The insides of my eyes and nose hurt from the dust that I could not wash out from the hours I worked yesterday in the barns where turkeys spend their entire lives.

They are crammed into pens, sometimes 600 or 800 to a pen. There are almost 8,000 turkeys in one barn. Each of these turkey farms has two or three barns. The dust inside the barns is sickening. I can’t even go in without a respirator mask. I cough and choke from not being able to breathe. I see the turkeys panting much of the time. I think about grabbing one of them and carrying her outside and putting her in the grass where she could breathe and walk freely. It is so sad that they are reduced to this miserable existence just to make some profit.

There are times when I have to hold back the tears. To see the workers torture these animals is infuriating. Today we are loading a truck with male turkeys who have been bred to weigh 80-plus pounds—the same weight as my 10-year-old cousin. I will spend the next four hours watching men slam them into cages on the back of a semi truck in temperatures near 20°F. I have seen these guys stomp turkeys’ heads on the concrete. The sound of cracking beaks and breaking bones makes me cringe, but I can show no emotion. I am forced to watch in silent pain as these innocent lives are being destroyed.

Turkey factory farms endorse suffering. They sell death. They make money on abuse. They do not want to show people what happens here. Everyone should know what happens here. I have spent two and a half months in hell so that people will know what it means to have a turkey on the table. Watch the video, and show people the truth. Make this world a better place by reducing pain and suffering. And please do not eat turkey this Thanksgiving.

If you're wondering why we're picking on poor Mama, it's probably because you've never played the original games. They are so heavy on dishes made from dead animals that the only things missing are the blood and the slaughterhouse. So in the name of accuracy and honesty, PETA decided to introduce a little horror into Mama's kitchen!

In the original Nintendo Wii and DS versions, players score points for assembling a meal (yup, it's that simple). That also applies in PETA's parody, but with this Thanksgiving dinner, players also must go through the motions of plucking the turkey's feathers, pulling out the bird's intestines, and cutting off the animal's head (we like to paint the full picture of what goes into a "meal"). We also added this really disgusting mini-game—no, seriously, this should really gross you out—where you have to stick food up a turkey's butt. It's amazing the things we can come up with!

And all the while, a demonic, cleaver-wielding Mama takes delight in the agony. But the good news is that if you beat the game you might be able to give Mama a change of heart and replace her bloodlust with a craving for tofu-turkey. Give it a shot if you think you have what it takes!

In addition to entertaining and educating (some people like to say "edutaining," but I just think that's lame) with the new Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals game, we're also encouraging players to contact Majesco to ask for a Cooking Mama game with all vegetarian recipes. We've already got the good news that Mama's next outing after Cooking Mama: World Kitchen will be a gardening game titled Gardening Mama (how did they come up with that title?!), but we want Mama to take her newly found love of veggies back to the kitchen too.

Oh, and I think I forgot to mention that this game is the best thing ever. So play it now, or else ….

Posted by Joel Bartlett

This year, in response to the gobbledygook that is offered on Butterball's Thanksgiving hotline (tips for stuffing a murdered bird? No, thank you!), you'll never guess who is greeting 1-888-VEG-FOOD callers and asking folks to pardon all turkeys from the horrible fate of being Thanksgiving dinner. A clue? He's "decided" to give the birds a break.

Each year, the president "pardons" two turkeys, who used to be sent to, ahem, Frying Pan Park in Fairfax County, Virginia. Well, instead of letting two overblown, overgrown birds get a few months to hobble around on painful legs, here's an idea: Go meat-free! Of all the tough decisions boggling the Executive-brain, this one should be the easiest to make. The weapons of mass defeathering are well-documented, and are known as shackles, scalding tanks, and blade machines. Check out the words of wisdom:

So, a word to those who would celebrate Thanksgiving with a dead centerpiece: Why not try one of these life-affirming, tasty recipes instead? Or how about a faux turkey? Or a vegan Wellington of mass deliciousness? Yep, healthy, vegetarian Thanksgiving fare abounds, and the turkeys needn't be the only ones doing the gobbling.

Posted by Charlotte Gordon

The USDA just completed an investigation of a Butterball turkey slaughterhouse in Arkansas that confirmed PETA's findings of intentional cruelty to animals, including punching, kicking, and tormenting turkeys destined for slaughter. So what happens next? Well, not much, as far as the law’s concerned: Because there simply aren’t any federal legal protections for chickens and turkeys. None. The only thing that can be done is to take matters into our own hands and put pressure on places like Butterball to make changes that will benefit the animals they profit from. And, more importantly, boycott these companies by going vegetarian. Here’s the video of the Butterball supplier’s abuses:

Posted by Christine Dore