Thanksgiving - It's All About The Turkey

Bringing home the Thanksgiving turkey is a tradition from hundreds of Novembers past.  Though we may come up with substitutes for the Thanksgiving meal, or even design vegan menus for the holiday, the big meal is still all about the bird. This postcard and many like it feature this theme, often with kids involved. The cards never show the death of the turkey - the children are never confronted with the slaughter. But now that I live on a small farm that is the first thing I think about. It's not that we are only herbivores or that we don't like turkey. In fact we love it, but we now can experience the whole process of field to table, even the tough parts.Some believe that there is cruelty in this system, but there doesn't have to be. When raised properly there seems a mutual understanding between the bird and the human, and that involves the turkey serving a purpose, maybe an unconscious recognition of the food chain. And when handled properly the slaughter does not have to produce the fear and panic that most meat animals experience. (My wife sings to the birds as they go under the knife.)The little boy in the postcard expresses the joy of the holiday. It is perhaps his favorite because it is a non-religious all-inclusive celebration when we can share our bounty and express our appreciation for it. We don't bring the turkey home slung over our shoulder any more, just as our kids don't wear straw hats and overalls.  But the tradition is still there, and it is still as healthy a time for gathering as it was one or two hundred years ago.