PETA Targets Turkey, Texas; Asks Town To Change Name To 'Tofurky'

Welcome to Tofurky, Texas?

As Thanksgiving approaches, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has asked the mayor of Turkey, Texas to change the name of his town to "Tofurky," a vegan turkey alternative.

In the letter to Mayor Pat Carson, PETA writes:

In contrast [to Tofurky], virtually all turkey meat sold in the U.S. comes from factory farms, where birds are confined by the thousands to filthy, barren sheds. They are drugged and bred to grow such unnaturally large upper bodies that their legs often become crippled under the weight. These bright and social animals are denied everything that is natural and important to them, and at the slaughterhouse, turkeys are still conscious when their throats are slit.

PETA even offers the town a full-course vegan Thanksgiving meal if they do change their name. The group explains, "Introducing vegan cuisine to your residents would help improve their health: A vegan diet is free of the saturated animal fats and cholesterol found in meat and dairy products, and according to the American Dietetic Association, a vegan diet reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity."

Not only do some groups tout the health benefits of a meat-free diet, but HuffPost's Lynne Peeples wrote earlier this year that according to an environmental report, "The production of meat and dairy requires the use of large amounts of pesticides, fertilizer, fuel, feed and water, and it releases greenhouse gases, manure and a range of toxic chemicals into our air and water."

Some locals have not been receptive to PETA's unusual request.

According to CNN, one resident said, "Well, I believe in everybody having their own opinion, but there's a bumper sign that you can get any place in Texas at tourist bureaus. It says, 'Don't mess with Texas.' My theory is, we're going to make a new sign-- don't mess with Turkey, Texas."

PETA has taken other steps the fight the killing of turkeys during the holiday season. They recently released an ad reading, "Kids: If You Wouldn't Eat Your Dog, Why Eat A Turkey?"

PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk also recently sent a letter to President Obama asking him to rename the ceremony where the president "pardons" two turkeys. Newkirk asks that Obama say he will "spare," the turkeys, since the animals have committed no crime and thus need no "pardoning."

WATCH PETA's 2006 undercover investigation of a turkey slaughterhouse (GRAPHIC):

WATCH a report on the PETA campaign:

Comments

[John Gordon Edwards]

09:29 PM on 04/14/2012

Can this be true? Are some people that foolish, self-centered and self-absorbed as to propose a new name to someone else's home town?

I spent my summers in Turkey, where literally everyone knew my name because my father grew up there and where my favorite uncle (then mayor) and aunt lived.

I even saw the first showing of "Hud" at the drive-in. It was filmed a few miles away, as was "The Last Picture Show."

And yeah, I probably saw one of the last picture shows in the main street movie theater where they wouldn't let me pay because my uncle and aunt were friends.

By the way, this is the home of Bob Wills, and the community is a living reminder of the kind of America where people like my father grew up.

A row of trees grew along the highway by one of my uncle's farms. I understand they were planted throughout the Midwest during the Great Depression to reduce soil erosion.

By the way, no one raised turkeys in Turkey. They were cotton farmers who sometimes raised cattle as a sideline business. The community was allegedly named for wild turkeys which once lived nearby.

[Dave Shaffer]

05:57 PM on 03/19/2012

I hope the good people of Turkey told thos idiots where they could go.

[aaldrew]

04:55 PM on 11/24/2011

PETA people are NUTZ!! I remember one dressed as a deer running through the woods on deer season.

[stonedragonfarm]

11:32 AM on 11/21/2011

With all the serious cases of animal cruelty and neglect out there needing attention, THIS is what PETA wastes their time on? They are a joke. An unfunny one.

[Kheiron540]

05:29 AM on 11/21/2011

Does anyone takes PETA seriously anymore? I am a vegetarian myself, but I hate them with passion.

[Panola60]

04:52 AM on 11/21/2011

Say NO to PETA for advocating the torture, slaughter, killing and eating of plants and vegetation.

Plants are living, breathing and peaceful life forms and PETA demands that we eat them alive to maximize their pain and suffering.

Say NO to PETA's hatred of plants and vegetation.

[thebigbike]

11:37 PM on 11/20/2011

in no contrast whatever to factory farmed turkey virtually all soybeans in the US come from monoculture factory "farms" which are responsible for loss of topsoil and migration of chemical fertilizers into surface and ground water supplies. They are planted cultivated and harvested by enormous petroleum eating machines, with minimal actual human employment involved and the "tofu" processed chemically in huge factories.

[Karl Wilder]

03:34 PM on 11/20/2011

Peta is a group of radical idiots who know nothing about how to get their message across.

p.s. Tofurkey is a grossly over processed bit of garbage and not suitable for any table.

[stonedragonfarm]

11:33 AM on 11/21/2011

Sorry, I like Tofurky! But I agree completely about PETA!

[Karl Wilder]

11:57 AM on 11/21/2011

You really like Tofurkey? I appreciate the company not using hexane but can't abide the stuff.

[lambdin1]

11:19 AM on 11/20/2011

Why not rename the town just "Urky, Texas" or "Ofurky, Texas" or ? Have your own fun with it.

[anastasi]

09:20 AM on 11/20/2011

Can PETA please just mind their own business? They remind me more and more of anti-choice activists with their more moral than thou rhetoric and pseudo-science (I've seen PETA essays claiming humans were evolved from gorillas; and early humans NEVER ate meat, don't mind all those spear points and arrow heads found worldwide).

I don't eat my dog because she was bred to HUNT turkeys, and has a lot more intelligence and personality of one.

[Sarah Tink Van Diesel]

07:49 AM on 11/20/2011

Watch the movie "earthings" and you might change your mind..happy tofuturkey day!

[jonsview2]

01:35 PM on 11/19/2011

Here's the solution: PETA members need to make a trip to the Republic of Turkey and petition their grievances--much bigger area! I doubt very many round-trip tickets would be necessary.

[Dede Eagleburger]

11:58 AM on 11/21/2011

i know, right? I mean there's a whole country that named themselves after a bird!!

[jonsview2]

02:41 PM on 11/21/2011

LOL! If they're not willing to go after the "big game" leave Turkey Texas alone. I hope you enjoy your turkey!

[rocketman69]

12:36 PM on 11/19/2011

It's the cruelty that makes them taste so good.

[kareemachan]

12:26 PM on 11/19/2011

PETA, you are shooting yourself in the foot by doing this kind of BS. Too bad you can't put the same energy into actually helping animals out, rather than getting yourself in the news.

Hey, how did that "sea kittens" thing go?....

[ccdteacher125]

10:18 AM on 11/19/2011

I think the town should change their name to PETA, Texas. People Eating Tasty Animals! Get real PEAT you look like fools!