Thanksgiving is a time of year dedicated to expressing gratitude for the things we cherish most in life. Friends and families gather to share a meal that often entails days or even weeks of planning. However, that same care and consideration given to Thanksgiving dinner does not always extend to the animals, farmers and farm workers involved in getting the food to our tables.
With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, we are calling on YOU to take action to build a more humane food system. In addition to voting with your fork, we hope you will help us put a stop to the growth of factory farms as we seek policy reforms. The Farm System Reform Act (FSRA) (H.R.4421/S.2332), introduced by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), seeks to phase out large CAFOs by 2040 while providing financial assistance for farmers to transition to more humane and sustainable farming systems, such as raising animals in pasture-based systems or switching to crop production. This bill would help local communities by holding factory farms accountable for the harm they cause to vital waterways and the air we breathe, as well as to farmers, who are often trapped in unfair and predatory contracts.
Join us to build support for this bill during the Farm System Reform Act Week of Action! During November 15-19, we are calling on you to take one or all of the following actions to help us advance this bill:
- Use the ASPCA’s alert to contact your representatives in Congress and urge their support for the Farm System Reform Act.
- Spread the word about the Farm System Reform Act on social media by sharing the ASPCA’s video.
- If you want to take your advocacy for farm animals further, consider joining our Regional Advocacy Field Team volunteer program.
Every year, over 47 million turkeys are slaughtered for Thanksgiving. Almost all of these birds are raised in cramped, filthy conditions with no access to the outdoors or enough space to carry out their natural behaviors. Sometimes they breathe air that is so polluted with ammonia that their lungs are damaged, and they suffer respiratory illnesses.
On top of potential breathing issues, today’s turkeys grow so large, so quickly, that many have trouble holding up their own body weight, often resulting in lameness and leg deformities.
These extremely cruel conditions on factory farms hurt more than just animals–practices on these “concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)” also pollute local air and water, threaten the livelihoods of more humane farmers, and endanger the health of local communities and farm workers. CAFOs harm animals, workers, farmers, communities and the environment, all of which are disregarded in the name of corporate profits.
This year, consider extending gratitude to the billions of farm animals raised in cruel factory farms by making more compassionate choices to eliminate factory-farmed food from your holiday meal. There are so many other options on the market and making such a positive choice will enhance your holiday. By opting for welfare-certified animal products (check out our Grocery List!) or plant-based options this Thanksgiving, you can improve the lives of animals while supporting the critical transition to a more humane food system. And that is something to truly be thankful for.
Every action you take can go a long way in advancing the Farm System Reform Act and preventing farm animals from suffering. And simply starting the conversation with family and friends about how they can make more humane food choices this holiday season and beyond is a great way to bring more people on board to help farm animals. The practices we pay for and support, the policies we ask for and work for—these things will shape the world for billions of animals. Working together, individual action and policy change have the potential to create a better world for farm animals.
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