Referring to them as “birds of courage,” Benjamin Franklin believed the turkey should be named the national bird as of the United States (instead of the bald eagle). Perhaps he admired the intelligence, beauty or resourcefulness of turkeys – these are characteristics unknown to most Americans who, today, often view turkeys as little more than the center of the holiday dinner table.
Yet anyone who has the opportunity to meet these animals at sanctuaries will tell you that they are highly intelligent animals who, just like the dogs and cats in our homes, are playful individuals with unique personalities. They also form strong social bonds and show affection towards one another. Mothers raise their chicks for five months and fiercely protect them from danger.
This holiday season, millions of families will gather together around the dinner table — with food as the center focus. 
Whether your political views are liberal or conservative, and even if you’ve already voted or are too young to vote, each one of us has an important choice to make today: 
Compassion Over Killing staff, interns, and volunteers celebrated Vegetarian Awareness Month all October long by distributing thousands of pieces of pro-vegetarian literature at the many fall festivals held across the East Coast.
No matter how you slice it, meat, which is laden with cholesterol and
There are so many reasons to choose vegan foods—more than nine billion, in fact. Sadly, that’s how many birds, pigs, and cows are killed each year for food in the U.S. (and billions more aquatic animals suffer the same fate). 
