I am appalled that you whiny, pathetic, leftists don't understand that mankind is an omnivore, there are 7 billion of us, and every single one of us has to eat. Turkeys as "sentient beings" -- baloney! Artificial insemination as animal abuse? Ridiculous! Fowl as part of the "99%?" Absolutely insane.

Let me disabuse you of a few faulty ideas.

First: food animal lives have intrinsic value in and of their own right. This is false. These animals wouldn't even have the chance to *exist* if the turkey farmers did not bring them into being. No food turkey waits in his pen, longing for the miracle of flight or the opportunity to hunt in the wild because THEY DON'T HAVE THOSE INSTINCTS. What they are is some deserving family's dinner on two legs and nothing more.

Second: animal mass production is cruel. False again. Food animals are not pets. They are not African Grey parrots or chimpanzees with a significant degree of intellect. Their primary redeeming quality is they produce meat. There is no society of animals that goes wanting for their intellectual contributions. They are merely a transitive state between grain and a wholesome meal for human beings. For many of us, their existence is the difference between a healthy, wholesome life and starvation. Never forget this: a vegetarian diet for the whole population of the earth would be unsustainable.
Third: food animals have "rights." Once again, false. Food animals are not human beings, no matter how hard you try to anthropomorphize them. They are stupid creatures utterly dependent upon their human caretakers for every aspect of their existence. Were they to be released into the wild, they would perish almost instantly, as they lack basic survival instincts, sufficient 'natural' sources of food, or the medical care necessary to ensure their short existence.

It's time to let this tired idea go, PETA. Go home, cuddle your dog and cat, pet your ferret, and feed the squirrels in your back yards. But take even BETTER care of the human beings around you. And stop acting like food animals' brief lives are anything but a matter of necessity for humankind's survival and growth. Look after a poor family's needs with the energy you expend worrying about farm animals. Remember that 99% you claim to so desperately care about? How about you spend a little more time worrying about THEM, rather than turkeys, forchrissake!

First let me say I am a female aged 60. Have lived in a family who hunts respectfully and give thanks to that which sustains us whether animal or a leafy green because our belief is that all things contain life. Take a real good look at nature and you will see what I mean. Sorry Bea, but I disagree AS LONG AS the animals raised for food consumption are raised healthfully,naturally as possible, and humanely whether or not the their necks get chopped in the end. Just because you're a plant eater gives you no right to "hit" anyone who isn't. I am a meat eater and if I were to change it would be because of my faith which respects all life in its many forms, including plants. So shall I not eat at all? In recent years I have noticed a great change towards how our meat is raised. People are going more organic with free range chickens and turkeys or raising their own. The same with other forms of meat. Just because something doesn't bleed does not mean it has no life. If you want to preach at anyone preach at the ones guilty of cramming animals or breeding animals unhealthily or to abnormal porportions, Monsanto chemical who do a lot of genetically modifying among others,and there are those who use steroids, etc. But don't preach to us meat eaters.In my opinion, people such as yourself and me should really focus on genetically modifying which is used on both plants and animals which can harm us and our children. Now let's take it one step further. Are you as concerned for ocean life as you are domesticated animals that are purposely raised to feed the masses? Because if your not not you should be. Our oceans cover at least 98% of the earth. Endangered whales are being slaughtered for their meat, shark are being decimated towards the point of endangerment for shark fin soup and dumped back into the oceans ALIVE,dolphins and porpoises are being slaughtered by the thousands INHUMANELY some are still alive when their baby is cut out of them, the Bluefin tuna is on the brink of extinction, and so are salmon, the Giant Clam which feed thousand of different types of ocean life when they reproduce have been decimated, as well as many other creatures of our vast oceans. And you know what? With worldwide over population, non usage of birth control, killing off endangered wildlife on land and sea when that ecological chain is irreparably broken and we humans won't have the green life you eat because the weather will have changed drastically.Nor will you have to worry about "sentient" farm raised animals being eaten by us omnivores because the earth will be pretty barren altogether.....no rain, unhealthy air, fires because everything will be parched. Life as we know it will be a living hell, at least for those who do survive. So while you eat your Tofurkey or tofu stir fry or a portabella mushroom sandwich grilled get online and do what you can to save our only home, planet earth, like I do when I'm eating a hot turkey and gravy sandwich with mashed potatoes,stuffing, and a veggie. Since you have a bad taste in your mouth because of "us people who support meat eating and the killing of what you call sentient beings" sweeten it with some kindness by using it in a truly purposeful way.

At some point, folks will wake up to the fact that all of these poor animals are also the 99 percent.

Perhaps you are correct in the manner in which this was discussed. However; keep your vegetarian ways to yourself. I am a meat eater. I revere all things in life that are living...including a tofu bean for each bean creates another plant. As I said in another reply, just because it doesn't bleed does not mean it is not a life and that goes for your soy beans you veggies are so fond of. I DO BELIEVE however in humane practices. Raising the animals as healthfully as possible is a must, and many are slowly going that route. Yes, the end result is that a turkey gets its neck chopped off and it should be, if done right, bled out. So tell me, how different is that from other life forms such as soybeans, wheat grass, herbs....even they sing their own song in the world of the living and they too have their use. The juice from wheat grass is its life giving "blood" but I see many have no problem with that as wheat grass hasn't a heart, or red blood, or eyes. My issue is how the animals are raised and treated despite that in the end they will die to feed the masses just as your soybeans are ripped from the earth washed and processed. Should all of us not eat for crying out loud? This thing between Veggies and Meaties is ridiculous. The more important issue should be how all of our food is raised, how we treat it, and how we give respect to it for sustaining our lives. Please, if you get an email on this come back and read my other reply. As for the dog and cats remark :while it is true that dogs and cats are regarded here as pets and are in most cases protected please do not forget that in other countries they are a source of food as well whereby in some countries a cow is regarded as religious and are never butchered. They are not off the menu in some countries. I know of no one on this earth that can say what animal has a soul and those that do not. What I do know is that some animals are exceedingly smart. I also know that they can feel pain, but so do plants and that has been proven. So, just because your soybean doesn't bleed red or have a beating heart it is okay to eat it? Catch my drift? We all have to eat whether we are Meaties or Veggies. It's about how we respect our food and that includes the proper raising of it. So my suggestion to you as it was to the other person is fight against the people directly who raise our food {including plant foods} by not crowding, or breeding abnormal sized parts, or using chemicals, steroids, pesticides, and are genetically modified. Stuff your face how you will but use your mouth to do more than promote being vegan. I'm all for animals being raised cleanly, healthfully, and humanely just as I am for the plant world but in the end we all must eat. Turkey or Tofurkey that is NOT the question. It is a choice which neither should foist upon the other. There are more important issues in the world, like saving endangered species on land and in our oceans. And of all the species in the world the one species I have hardly any respect for {but still hope for} is the species of homo sapien. We are killing ourselves through greed, stupidity, crapping on our own home world, and breeding ourselves into oblivion. And it seems we can never agree to disagree but try {and failing} to forge ahead together in anyway we can to create a better world. If that never happens will it really matter who eats what or how it is raised?