Let's talk turkey

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. Each year I look forward to the break from everyday life, the chance to spend time with family and friends and, of course, the delicious food. In the current economy, setting up the Thanksgiving Day spread may be more difficult for some families than ever before, but certain foods, it seems, are a must-have on the big day. The most treasured part of any Thanksgiving dinner is surely a plump, delicious turkey.

On this one day of the year, millions of turkeys are eaten across the country—more than 45 million according the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Industrial agriculture has made it possible for most American families to have a turkey on their table, and that is certainly something to be grateful for.

But what is the real cost of that iconic Thanksgiving turkey? Some people would argue that the cost of raising that turkey is less than the price you pay at the grocery store. After all, the companies raising and selling the turkeys must be making a profit. What if I suggested, however, that the true cost of raising that turkey is, in fact, greater than the price you pay? It sounds absurd, to be sure, but though the money you pay for that turkey covers the costs to the company producing the turkey, it does nothing to mitigate the costs to the environment.

Factory farming of turkeys contributes to numerous environmental problems. Industrial agriculture releases more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined. Runoff from industrial agricultural fields contains nutrients that can destroy the balance of aquatic ecosystems and bacteria that can cause serious health problems for both humans and animals.

You can think of this Thanksgiving purchase as the down payment on a turkey mortgage. You pay a relatively small price for that turkey now, and in the years to come, your children and grandchildren will pay off the rest in the form of environmental clean up. Do we really want to bestow that burden upon future generations?

Perhaps the question to ask yourself this Thanksgiving is not whether you can afford a turkey, but whether your children and grandchildren can afford it.

Jennifer Imm

Trinity ’16