At Farm Sanctuary, we celebrate compassion instead, honoring turkeys for who they are. You, too, have the power to embrace kinder holiday traditions.

Below are five reasons you should leave turkeys off your plate this year…and consider adopting a turkey instead!

Each year, more than 200 million turkeys are slaughtered for food in the U.S. — and over 99 percent of U.S. turkeys are raised on industrial farms and kept in severely crowded and unsanitary conditions. They are given little or no care and denied the chance to engage in many natural behaviors, like nesting, rooting in the grass for food, or perching. Sheds are filled with ammonia and animal waste, which is harmful to both birds and human workers and puts both at risk for respiratory conditions.

Factory-farmed turkeys are selectively bred to grow to an unnatural size quickly, reaching market weight in just four months. By that age, today’s factory-farmed males are roughly triple the weight of adult wild male turkeys. This breeding for maximal production and profit leaves many birds suffering from deformities and heart conditions and too large to fly, roost, or mate naturally. Burdened by their body weight, some cannot stand or reach their water and food.

Many consumers may be shocked that some excruciating procedures are considered standard practice in the poultry industry. Turkeys and chickens alike are routinely detoed (the tips of their toes are severed) and “debeaked” (the tips of their beaks are burned or cut off) — all with no form of pain relief. This is an attempt to prevent injuries caused by the stress of extreme crowding, caused by factory farming itself. While the American Veterinary Medical Association has not condemned debeaking, it has acknowledged that “acute and chronic pain are associated with this procedure.”

While other land animals — including pigs, cows, and sheep — are offered basic protections under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, birds (including turkeys, chickens, ducks, and geese) are excluded. This leaves the treatment of these birds at slaughter largely up to meat and egg producers, who most often put profit above animal welfare. While turkeys and chickens are lowered into electrified water in an attempt to stun them, this often fails, leaving many birds conscious when their throats are cut.

Many factors affect human-induced climate change, but farming billions of animals yearly is widely considered a leading driver of our environmental crisis. Animal agriculture accounts for at least 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The industry also uses 80 percent of U.S. agricultural land — and according to the University of Minnesota, the U.S. could feed almost three times more people by providing major crops directly to humans rather than livestock. One of the easiest and most effective ways an individual can do their part in helping to fight climate change is by choosing a plant-based diet.

Turkeys are bright, social, and sentient creatures! Turkeys form loving relationships, have unique personalities, and deserve a life free from harm and exploitation.