Another instance of horrific cruelty has been caught on video. Thanksgiving is a holiday that turkeys are anything but thankful for. Every year 300 million turkeys are raised and slaughtered for food, and 46 million of those will be eaten on Thanksgiving alone.

Being slaughtered is bad enough and, as some have often said, “if slaughterhouses had glass walls we’d all be vegetarian.” But worse things can happen than slaughter: deliberate animal cruelty. The abuse, uncovered and caught on video, at Plainfield farms is so horrific that we won’t go into specific details but you can take our word for it that it was not only cruel in the extreme, but it was sadistic as some of the workers seem to actually enjoy it. Not only were some turkeys tortured, but there were instances of sexual abuse.

Plainville Farms boasts on their website that “humane treatment is the heart of our business.” Humane? Some people consider this consumer fraud.

What can we do about it? Perhaps one of the most powerful things you can do is stop eating turkeys. With Thanksgiving coming up soon, we recommend the many turkey substitutes that are now widely available. That’s how we can all make a difference.