- Gene Baur with Bubbles the turkey. Credit: Farm Sanctuary
Thanksgiving is a holiday many new vegans may start out dreading, worrying if they’ll have to starve to enjoy their family traditions. Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary is one of those advocates for turning the tradition of celebrating dead animals on its head in order to get back to the giving thanks part. Baur has been featured on the VM blog before regarding Farm Sanctuary and his book release; we are pleased to welcome him back to discuss the ever-popular Adopt-A-Turkey project. For those unable to take home a gobbler or two, you can always sponsor one, or join in a compassionate feast alongside living turkeys at the annual Celebration for the Turkeys.
Vegan Mainstream: Can you talk a little bit about the Adopt-A-Turkey project that is taking place this year?
Gene Baur: It’s been an amazing year. Ellen [Degeneres] is our spokesperson for the Adopt-A-Turkey project. We just did three events where the turkeys were the guests of honor, not the main course, and we were able to enjoy and delight in their presence. We much prefer being with living animals instead of dead ones. It was wonderful. Hundreds of people came out to each event.
VM: What gave you the idea to do Adopt-A-Turkey and how long has it been going on?
GB: In 1986, when we started doing this, we felt the Thanksgiving holiday should be about thanks and gratefulness; community and compassion. We felt that celebrating an annual event around the body of a dead animal in the middle of a table didn’t line up with what Thanksgiving could be in our minds. For vegetarians, Thanksgiving has always been a difficult holiday because here are people who care about animals and see them all like they see cats and dogs. We wanted to do something different. We came up with the Adopt-A-Turkey project where people could adopt a turkey who was rescued from slaughter, or they could sponsor a turkey who was rescued from slaughter that lives at Farm Sanctuary.
VM: What is the process for adopting a turkey if you’re taking one home?
GB: The process if you’re taking one home, as you can imagine, is fairly detailed. People have to fill out an application, they have to talk to our shelter people. We want to make sure the turkeys will be allowed to live out their lives, that they will be kept in appropriate conditions and that they get all the care they need, including veterinary care if they get sick. So, there’s a fairly rigorous screening process for turkeys being placed in homes. When it comes to sponsoring a turkey, people just send in a check or make a donation to Farm Sanctuary, and for that you are helping a turkey that lives here at the farm. You get a picture of the turkey you’re helping take care of. We encourage people to share those pictures with friends, to bring them to work and to encourage other people to think about the fact that these are living, feeling animals. That’s really where a big part of the problem is. People consume turkeys, and other animals, without really recognizing these are living, feeling creatures who have, in most cases, suffered on factory farms to get to their plate.
VM: How have you seen this project grow since you started 1986?
GB: It’s grown significantly. People around the country, in fact around the world, sponsor turkeys from us. This year we had Ellen as our spokesperson, and that draws a lot of attention. So, it’s grown and it’s continuing to grow.
VM: What is the Turkey Express?
GB: The Turkey Express is part of the Adopt-A-Turkey program and that’s what we call the van we have to deliver turkeys to good homes.
VM: What are some things you would like to get the word out about how turkeys are prepared for food, things that most people don’t know?
GB: Most people don’t know that turkeys have been genetically bred and have been so profoundly altered that they are no longer able to reproduce naturally. All commercial turkeys are products of artificial insemination. They’ve been bred to grow so fast and so large that their hearts and lungs have a hard time supporting their growth rate. Every year millions die of heart attacks at a very young age. The bottom line is we do not need to eat turkeys or any other animals. That’s one of the myths we grow up with, this idea that we have to eat meat. And we don’t. People should just think about their food choices and also recognize that this is a choice. We can decide not to do it.
VM: I saw Biz Stone of Twitter gave his endorsement for your Celebration for the Turkeys. How long has that event been going on and what happens there?
GB: Absolutely! The Celebration for the Turkeys is something we’ve done in various ways since the beginning. As our organization has grown and expanded, the Celebration for the Turkeys has also grown and expanded. The first year we just had a small event at people’s houses where we had turkeys as the guests of honor. Now we have three farms, one in New York and two in California, and we have people come out, visit with the turkeys and we feed them! We turn the tables at Thanksgiving. It’s a beautiful event where families bring their kids out. It’s so nice to see children interacting with these birds.
VM: Was it a strategic choice to place a farm near Hollywood?
GB: Yes, yes, yes. We felt for a long time it would be good to have a presence in the L.A. area, so we’re very lucky to have a facility there.
VM: What sorts of new initiatives is Farm Sanctuary working on?
GB: One of our big strategic initiatives is to bring the sanctuary experience to a wider audience. The Adopt-A-Turkey program does do that in some sense, because when people adopt turkeys and they get those pictures, and they show those to friends and share them with people, that’s bringing the sanctuary’s message to a wider audience. We also, for the first time this year, had a live stream of the turkey celebration here in New York where people could see live these turkeys being fed and just be part of the whole event remotely. I think we’re going to be doing more with technology to bring the sanctuary experience to a wider audience, and also through community-based activism where we’re going to be working with citizens in different communities to raise awareness about these issues.
VM: Do you think turkeys and Thanksgiving brings an easier transition to awareness about all farm animals and suffering?
GB: I think it’s part of the process, yes. The thing about Thanksgiving is that it’s become so identified with eating a dead bird. That’s why we created the Adopt-A-Turkey program to challenge that tradition directly. So, it’s hard to know if Thanksgiving is easier or more difficult for people in terms of vegan transitions, but it’s a flashpoint. It’s a time when people are talking a lot about turkeys, and we wanted them to talk about turkeys in a different way, not as dead pieces of meat, but as living, feeling animals.
VM: What is your Thanksgiving tradition?
GB: I don’t really have any traditions, it just depends on where I am. I enjoyed our celebrations this weekend, so if I had to say what my tradition is, that’s it. It’s to participate in our celebrations the weekend before Thanksgiving.
VM: Do you have any favorite recipes, turkey-free?
GB: Oh gosh, anything but the dead bird. I love all the food! I love the stuffing, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, you know, pumpkin pie. I totally love squash. In terms of recipes, I’m not a big cook myself, but we have these huge feasts [at Farm Sanctuary]. I’m not a good cook myself, but I’m pretty good at enjoying the food!
