Pardoning turkeys, all of them -- "A tremendously handsome, outgoing, and intelligent turkey" -- How to make a turkey -- How they live -- How they die -- Reconsider the turkey -- Recipes for ethical feasting

"Each year, Peter Singer, the philosopher, ethicist, and Animal Rights activist, teaches a large undergraduate class on Ethics. In advance of the Thanksgiving holiday in America, he gives a lecture to his students on the ethical issues involved with its journey to our holiday tables. He covers how the bird came into existence and the kind of life and death it has as well as the conditions of the workers involved with its production and the environmental impact of their being factory farmed. It is not a pretty picture and may lead one to think twice about their turkey traditions. This very short book will be an expanded form of the essay based on that lecture he wrote for our book, Ethics in the Real World. The plan is to increase that essay from about 1,000 words to 8,000 and package it as an On Bullshit-sized book which could be a Thanksgiving classic!"--

"Why this holiday season is a great time to rethink the traditional turkey feast. A turkey is the centerpiece of countless Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Yet most of us know almost nothing about today's specially bred, commercially produced birds. In this brief book, bestselling author Peter Singer tells their story-and, unfortunately, it's not a happy one. Along the way, he also offers a brief history of the turkey and its consumption, ridicules the annual U.S. presidential "pardon" of a Thanksgiving turkey, and introduces us to "a tremendously handsome, outgoing, and intelligent turkey" named Cornelius. Above all, Singer explains how we can improve our holiday tables-for turkeys, people, and the planet-by liberating ourselves from the traditional turkey feast. In its place, he encourages us to consider trying a vegetarian alternative-or just serving the side dishes that many people already enjoy far more than turkey. Complete with some delicious recipes for turkey-free holiday feasting, Consider the Turkey will make you reconsider what you serve for your next holiday meal-or even tomorrow's dinner"--