“The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white or women for men.” ~ Alice Walker

The suffering of the creatures was the primary reason I shifted to a vegan diet. I simply cannot bear the thought of causing harm to the animals, birds, fish, and bees. As Alice Walker so succinctly pointed out, they exist for their own reasons. This month I have tuned in to the suffering of the turkeys, because millions of them will die for the U.S. Thanksgiving Holiday. After seeing turkeys in the wild, and experiencing their Beauty and Majesty, I couldn’t imagine ever again eating one of our gorgeous winged relations. 

With the sorrow of the turkeys’ deaths hanging heavy in my heart, I ask everyone in the United States to please consider going vegetarian or vegan this Thanksgiving. On behalf of all those turkeys, and with concern for all the fearful energies that millions of people will ingest through the cooked dead turkey meat, I am asking everyone in the United States to please take a few moments of silence and meditate upon the lifeblood of the turkeys.

Contemplate the fear and agony the turkeys will feel as they are being killed, and ask yourselves if you really want to take in those fearful energies. Everything, everything, everything is energy. Even Oprah says so! We are all connected in one continuous web of energy. If you eat dead turkey meat, then you take in the anxious energies that the turkey experienced while dying. Please consider going vegetarian or vegan for Thanksgiving.

In my next blog article I will share some vegetarian/vegan Thanksgiving menu ideas and recipes. And, inspired by the turkeys’ plight this month, I’ve done some research and learned that the meat industry contributes to about 18% of global green house emissions. So, even if people don’t feel compassion for the creatures, they might be inspired to reduce their meat consumption in order to help the environment. Therefore, I will soon be announcing the Voices for Vegetarianism Campaign. Stay tuned…

May all beings everywhere live in Freedom and Harmony, including the turkeys in the good ‘ole U.S. of A.

Om Shanti (Peace), 

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of turkey from the blog article “Thanksgiving Turkey Bird Facts” by Sienna Hudson.