Sentient

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The real facts about your turkey dinner might surprise you.

From animal welfare to environmental impact, here are some reasons to opt out of eating turkey this year.

Have you wondered about the climate impact of your Thanksgiving feast? We crunched the emissions numbers on different types of Thanksgiving meals and foods — from meat-based, vegetarian to vegan — using data from several sources, including a 2018 study in Science. What you learn might surprise you ➡️ Read more here: https://buff.ly/3OupVyI Sources: Poore and Nemecek 2018, CarbonCloud, Flysjö 2011

More than 60,000 delegates from almost 200 countries came together for COP29, the United Nations' annual climate conference. What did they say about food systems, a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions?

Debunked: Five common myths about turkey. America consumes over 5 billion pounds of turkey annually. This means that the turkey farming industry has a notable impact on the environment and on turkeys. But how much do you really know about these animals? Sentient’s Jessica Scott-Reid explains.

Since the 1960s, farmed turkeys have transformed. As turkey meat increased in popularity during the mid-20th century, farmers began using selective breeding to breed turkeys with larger breasts. As time went on, the turkeys continued to get bigger and bigger. By 2020, the average weight of a farmed turkey was 31 pounds. That weight increase has only created more issues for the animals: - Because of their large size, male turkeys often suffer from joint problems - They have difficulty standing or even moving, inhibiting their access to food and water - They suffer from low fertility rates, and are bred through artificial insemination Learn more turkeys here: https://buff.ly/3CX7Giz

President-elect Donald Trump has picked long-term ally Brooke Rollins to lead the Department of Agriculture. The Texas native lacks experience — but industry groups are hopeful. Dawn Attride explains:

Beef tallow might seem like a natural and wholesome skincare solution, but it's just another facet of factory farming. Jessica Scott-Reid explains:

While there had been informal turkey pardons throughout the years, it was President George H. W. Bush who sealed the tradition, announcing an “official” presidential pardon every year beginning in 1989. Unfortunately, formalizing the pardon in the late 1980s appears to directly correlate with a rise in turkey consumption in the United States. Instead of eliciting compassion for their species, the pardoned turkeys seem to serve more as a big commercial for the tradition of eating a Thanksgiving turkey itself. Learn more about this tradition’s history: https://buff.ly/3CGXWc9