In anticipation of the day of fifty million slaughtered turkeys, the New York Times has printed a Thanksgiving op-ed by Gary Steiner that makes the unapologetic case for veganism.

[U]ses of animals are so institutionalized, so normalized, in our society that it is difficult to find the critical distance needed to see them as the horrors that they are: so many forms of subjection, servitude and — in the case of killing animals for human consumption and other purposes — outright murder.

and

We have been trained by a history of thinking of which we are scarcely aware to view non-human animals as resources we are entitled to employ in whatever ways we see fit in order to satisfy our needs and desires. Yes, there are animal welfare laws. But these laws have been formulated by, and are enforced by, people who proceed from the proposition that animals are fundamentally inferior to human beings. At best, these laws make living conditions for animals marginally better than they would be otherwise — right up to the point when we send them to the slaughterhouse.

Think about that when you’re picking out your free-range turkey, which has absolutely nothing to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. All it ever had was a short and miserable life, thanks to us intelligent, compassionate humans.

What he said. And, uh, go vegan!

H/T to Mom.

Sections: Vegan News, Vegan Theory
Topics: animal vegetable mineral, Gary Steiner, New York Times, thanksgiving, turkeys, veg, Vegan