Thanksgiving Reflections

As my large family gathered around the table to pray and give thanks for whatever it is was they gave thanks for, I could not tear my eyes away from the food laid out before us. There was so much of it. Too much for us to consume on one night. The staring had more to do with how disturbed I was than how hungry I was. But what was most disturbing was that there had to be at least four different kinds of animals on that table.

I began to wonder, how many other families in this country are standing or sitting around a table similar to this one? I'm no vegetarian, but after having learned about where our meats come from and what animals are put through before making it to our supermarkets, I've become a bit squeamish.

How many Turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving? I did a little googling and found my answer at infoplease.com

"According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving—that's one sixth of all turkeys sold in the U.S. each year. American per capita consumption of turkeys has soared from 8.3 pounds in 1975 to 18.5 pounds in 1997. Ten years later, the number has dropped slightly in 2007 to 17.5 pounds."

That is an incredible amount of turkeys. There is no way that many turkeys can be raised for mass consumption in humane conditions.

And so I came back to the table with the turkey and the roasted pork and the chicken and beef filled Empanadas and thought about what I was giving thanks for. Another day in the year when I can consume unnecessarily?

I am thankful for my health and my family and friends, none of which needs to be celebrated with such an elaborate feast. For Christmas I'll be asking my family to limit the animal sacrifice to just one.