Turkey has been a staple of Thanksgiving for years. It sits upon the table with stuffing, green beans, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Afterwords, families might go watch the big football game, or watch the dog show. But have you ever wondered how this affects us turkeys?

As a proud member of the Poultry community, the murdering and genocide of Turkeys on Thanksgiving is problematic and an archaic tradition which should have been phased out long ago.

Turk D. Gravingston, leader of Gizzard Regiment Against Violence and You (G.R.A.V.Y.) has been leading the charge against the use of any meat products by humans, including Turkeys. He cites the double-standard humans seem to reinforce every time they consume an animal product, from eggs to turkey, and how they seem to disregard the feelings of the Animal community.

“Violent traditions seem to always stem from double-standards, from making unrealistic and stereotypical depictions of colored eggs, laid by rabbits, filled with sweets and literally hunting them down, to the use of a Thanksgiving turkey. How would the humans feel if we fed their children with a bunch of candy and made them look ridiculous? How would they feel if we roasted and seasoned them, placing them on a platter for a family to enjoy? It’s utterly ridiculous,” said Gravingston.

The underlying speciesism within the Thanksgiving holiday is not only reflected in the brutal eating of turkeys, but also in the caricatures humans plaster over every wall in November. How are we supposed to feel about these unrealistic expectations for our body types?

Phillip Poultryson, an activist with the Plymouth, Massachusetts-based organization Anti-Thanksgiving League (A.T.L.) refers to these drawings as blatant speciesism disguised within a “harmless” childhood activity.

“Human leadership have institutionalized speciesism, so far as to indoctrinating public schools into their beliefs. They force children as early as Kindergarten to create unrealistic ‘hand turkeys’, which create offensive body-type expectations for both Toms and Hens. These have attributed to low self esteems throughout the Turkey community,” said Poultryson.

The association of Turkeys with Thanksgiving has been a tradition which has lived for far too long, and, as it’s going to be impossible to get stubborn humans to agree to reason, I propose a compromise.

First, completely phase out all use of ANY meat products. These traditions go beyond just Turkeys, but also the Pig, Chicken, and Cow community, and after they phase this out, we can begin to contribute to real change.

Second, compensate the Turkey community for lives lost and affected by this violent tradition. Nearly 46 million turkeys are roasted and eaten each year, according to the University of Gizzard at Denver. While the humans can’t return the loved ones so many families lost, they can provide financial compensation.

In return for the removal of all animal products and compensation to the families of victims, we, the Turkeys, vow not to revolt and take to the streets, destroying your lawns and pecking at your children. After all, 100 million of us live in the United States alone, quite enough to peck the human race out of existence in retaliation for our genocide.

This Thanksgiving, the Turkeys ask that you strongly reconsider your traditions. Tofu is a rather effective protein substitute, and rice, salads, or maybe a hearty soup will help humans transition into a more peaceful lifestyle. And let’s face it, the obesity problem in your country doesn’t seem to be fixing itself. Every time you walk around the supermarket and see and type of turkey, remember – we are watching you, and one way or another we will have our revenge.