A turkey is the centerpiece of countless Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Yet most of us know almost nothing about today’s specially bred, commercially produced birds. In this brief book, bestselling author Peter Singer tells their story—and, unfortunately, it’s not a happy one. Along the way, he also offers a brief history of the turkey and its consumption, ridicules the annual U.S. presidential “pardon” of a Thanksgiving turkey, and introduces us to “a tremendously handsome, outgoing, and intelligent turkey” named Cornelius. Above all, Singer explains how we can improve our holiday tables—for turkeys, people, and the planet—by liberating ourselves from the traditional turkey feast. In its place, he encourages us to consider trying a vegetarian alternative—or just serving the side dishes that many people already enjoy far more than turkey. Complete with some delicious recipes for turkey-free holiday feasting, Consider the Turkey will make you reconsider what you serve for your next holiday meal—or even tomorrow’s dinner.
Peter Singer is professor emeritus of bioethics at Princeton University and has been described as the world’s most influential philosopher. His many books include Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, The Life You Can Save, and Ethics in the Real World (Princeton).
"The noted animal rights ethicist and activist delivers a plea to leave Meleagris gallopavo off the holiday table. . . . The reader may be shocked enough by [Singer’s] descriptions to adopt the same view. . . . A well-considered exhortation to give a thought to a badly treated bird."—Kirkus
“No one writes more clearly and persuasively than Peter Singer. Here is a profound expression of the ethics of enlightened common sense—that our primary moral goal as human beings is to minimize the suffering of sentient creatures, in this case the iconic Thanksgiving turkey.”—Joyce Carol Oates
“This small but powerful book is full of riveting facts, including some jaw-droppers. Readers will be left wondering how, if cruelty to animals is a crime (and it is), anyone can be excused for subjecting a turkey to a raft of pain and misery so that he—invariably he—can be reduced to a carcass for the carving. Consider the Turkey promises to convert many a Thanksgiving dinner into a celebration of life.”—Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
“Peter Singer has written an admirably clear and informative account of how turkeys live and die in today’s world. If our great-grandchildren chance upon his book, I hope they will forgive us for the atrocities we practice on these intelligent birds during their brief and joyless lives among us.”—J. M. Coetzee, Nobel Prize–winning author of Disgrace and The Lives of Animals
“In Consider the Turkey, renowned ethicist Peter Singer delivers a striking indictment of humanity’s treatment of other animals. Poultry industry marketing would have us believe that we purchase happy and humanely raised and slaughtered turkeys for Thanksgiving. But what looms in the background is a system that disregards the dignity of humans and other animals and poses an existential threat to all of us. Singer’s work highlights the need for fierce moral courage by leaders who will enact policy that prioritizes compassion for all species, including our own.”—Crystal Heath, DVM, executive director of the veterinary advocacy organization Our Honor
“This short but revelatory book recounts in harrowing detail all that is done to turkeys during their brief lives before they are killed and eaten. I fervently hope that it will be widely read and that the awakened compassion of ordinary people will prove stronger than the rapacity and cruelty of the leaders of the turkey production industry.”—Jeff McMahan, University of Oxford
