Consider the Turkey

by Peter Singer, Grant Cartwright (narrator)

Why this holiday season is a great time to rethink the traditional turkey feast

A turkey is the centerpiece of countless Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Yet most of us know almost nothing about today’s specially bred, commercially produced birds. In this brief book, bestselling author Peter Singer tells their story—and, unfortunately, it’s not a happy one. Along the way, he also offers a brief history of the turkey and its consumption, ridicules the annual U.S. presidential “pardon” of a Thanksgiving turkey, and introduces us to “a tremendously handsome, outgoing, and intelligent turkey” named Cornelius. Above all, Singer explains how we can improve our holiday tables—for turkeys, people, and the planet—by liberating ourselves from the traditional turkey feast. In its place, he encourages us to consider trying a vegetarian alternative—or just serving the side dishes that many people already enjoy far more than turkey. Complete with some delicious recipes for turkey-free holiday feasting, Consider the Turkey will make you reconsider what you serve for your next holiday meal—or even tomorrow’s dinner.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Animals, Food

Audio CD

Published October 29, 2024

About the author

Peter Singer is sometimes called "the world’s most influential living philosopher" although he thinks that if that is true, it doesn't say much for all the other living philosophers around today. He has also been called the father (or grandfather?) of the modern animal rights movement, even though he doesn't base his philosophical views on rights, either for humans or for animals.


In 2005 Time magazine named Singer one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute ranked him 3rd among Global Thought Leaders for 2013. (He has since slipped to 36th.) He is known especially for his work on the ethics of our treatment of animals, for his controversial critique of the sanctity of life doctrine in bioethics, and for his writings on the obligations of the affluent to aid those living in extreme poverty. 


Singer first became well-known internationally after the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975. In 2011 Time included Animal Liberation on its “All-TIME” list of the 100 best nonfiction books published in English since the magazine began, in 1923. Singer has written, co-authored, edited or co-edited more than 50 books, including Practical Ethics; The Expanding Circle; How Are We to Live?, Rethinking Life and Death, The Ethics of What We Eat (with Jim Mason), The Point of View of the Universe (with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek), The Most Good You Can Do, Ethics in the Real World and Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction. His works have appeared in more than 30 languages.

Singer’s book The Life You Can Save, first published in 2009, led him to found a non-profit organization of the same name. In 2019, Singer got back the rights to the book and granted them to the organization, enabling it to make the eBook and audiobook versions available free from its website, www.thelifeyoucansave.org.



Peter Singer was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1946, and educated at the University of Melbourne and the University of Oxford. After teaching in England, the United States and Australia, he has, since 1999, been Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. He is married, with three daughters and four grandchildren. His recreations include hiking and surfing. In 2012 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, the nation’s highest civic honour.

Reviews

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot express how much I wish people were aware of the realities of animal agriculture. This was a quick but tough read.

[Catullus2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Factory farming is the pits

[Pol Viñas · Rating 5 out of 5]

No ho faig gaire sovint, però sempre que llegeixo alguna cosa sobre indústria càrnica als EEUU, per molt preparat que pugui estar, quedo fet pols i més convençut que mai. Les xifres, els testimonis, exemples, comparacions... És una bestialitat que convivim sense problema amb tant de patiment.

Mha agradat molt l'assaig, breu, sense filigranes. Explicar que hi ha al darrere del menjar més popular als EEUU (he pensat com traduir-ho aquí, tot i que seria menys escandalós perquè tenim una regulació prou raonable comparada amb la dels psicòpates dels americans: Considereu el fuet? la botifarra? el pernil?). M'ha fet gràcia que al final de tot inclogui un receptari vegà escrit pels seus amics intel·lectuals wokes. També està molt bé que parli de les alternatives com un ventall i no prediqui el veganisme/vegetarianisme com una qüestió binària (tot i que tampoc no estic en contra de qui ho fa).

Singer és convincent i compromès amb les idees que fa dècades que defensa, però alhora irònic i comprensiu amb el lector. Fa anys vaig llegir el recull d'articles d'opinió (en què apareixia una versió molt reduïda d'aquest assaig) i encara recordo, perquè em va marcar, la seva preocupació per arribar a la gent ("llegirà molta més gent un op-ed que un article acadèmic que, de mitjana, llegeixen 5 persones, o un llibre" o alguna cosa així). A vegades hi penso i és el mateix argument que es podria posar per posar-se a fer tuits o tiktoks en comptes d'articles. No ho tinc clar. També hi deia, al llibre aquell, que els gordos haurien de pagar més per pujar als avions, però això ja és un altre tema.

Curt, amè, molt recomanable!

[achang · Rating 4 out of 5]

:( grateful for the brevity of this book; not sure i could have stomached much longer. singer presents a utilitarian argument but highlights that neither contemporary kantian ethicists nor non-secular principles condone the current ata cofa standards. it’s all just capitalist greed… which everyone already knows but nobody wants to think about. kant proposed that animals are “not self-conscious and are there merely as a means to an end,” but he also stated, “he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men.” hard to reconcile really any philosophical framework with these horrifying industry practices.

[Greg Fournier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a forceful denunciation of the turkey-producing industry in the United States, written with a moral clarity that is too often lacking in most pieces of writing. Singer should be congratulated for penning such a concise and persuasive account of the horrible treatment of what was almost America’s national bird. I’m not sure I’ll be convinced to forgo the turkey at Thanksgiving, but this book will certainly give me pause.

[Matthew Adelstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Convincing catalogue of the ways turkeys are mistreated.

[Jaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking

[Ryan Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Singer, as always, guides the reader to consider far more than just the Turkeys.

[Jan Bloxham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The choice to eat Turkeys or not is an individual one, and I’m not judging.

But this book should be mandatory reading for all turkey eaters, just so they realise what they are complicit in.

[Jon Bloom · Rating 5 out of 5]

80 pages of nightmarish reality. This is the kind of philosophical argument that only needs to present undebatable facts to win decisively.

Well-written and sobering, I recommend it to everyone. But prepare yourself for second-hand misery throughout.

[Christa (Stems & Pages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Save the turkeys!!

In Consider the Turkey, bestselling author Peter Singer unveils the troubling reality of commercially bred turkeys while tracing their history and cultural significance. He critiques traditions like the U.S. presidential turkey “pardon” and introduces Cornelius, a charming and intelligent turkey. Singer advocates for turkey-free holiday meals, offering vegetarian alternatives and delicious recipes to improve holiday tables for people, animals, and the planet. This thought-provoking book challenges readers to reconsider their holiday feasts and everyday dining habits.

This nonfiction that looks into the ugly side of animal processing focuses on Thanksgiving’s centerpiece, but after reading this I’m okay forgoing turkey for the remainder of my holiday feasts. Ignorance is what gets most of us by when we consume animal products, but for a lot of us, it becomes more difficult to ignore the horrors of consuming meat and the more I learn the more I begin to lean away from it’s consumption. Read with caution and preferably before eating anything.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the last 50 years the philosopher Peter Singer has made an unanswerable case against eating factory produced meat, which is basically all meat in the developed world. His books, beginning with "Animal Liberation", argue that the pain and cruelty done to factory raised animals cannot be justified. It is morally wrong to eat the beef, pork, or chicken sold in the supermarket or served in the restaurant.

This short essay uses the Turkey as an example of what we are doing to these animals. He gives some Turkey background. The Spanish learned of them when they landed in Mexico in 1518. They brought them back to Spain. Turkeys became popular in Turkey and were known by that name in England. The English settlers brought them from England. They became wild birds in North America.

He rebuts the stereotype of the Turkey as a stupid bird. In the wild they live in flocks of 20 or so birds with a sophisticated hierarchy. Anecdotally they are intelligent birds.

The factory farms where Turkeys are industrially raised now are as horrific as you would expect. They are in tiny cages. They are feed huge amounts of feed. They are bred to be unhealthy birds with huge breasts. They are so stressed that they constantly fight. The "farmers" cut off their beaks and claws.

He has a particularly icky chapter on how male Turkeys are masturbated and then female Turkeys are inseminated. Both are done forcibly. Also, because it has to be done by hand, the process is done by people with the worst job ever. The Turkey's lives end in equally horrific ways, including inducing mass heat death when diseases spread.

I ate and enjoyed Turkey at Thanksgiving. Singer is correct in thinking that the way to succeed in his goal is to force people to think about what they are doing. His thought is that if he forces us to "consider the Turkey" as a fellow sentient creature, we will not be able to think of a Turkey as the centerpiece of a Thanksgiving table.

(The title is a nod to the 2004 essay "Consider the Lobster" by David Foster Wallace. Wallace made the case that we had to, at least, consider whether boiling live lobsters was immoral.)

[Marty LaFleur · Rating 5 out of 5]

A succinct book on the life of turkeys produced for food (and my first foray into Singer's works). Although I think a lot of the information is well-known (for example, meat production "farms" are inhumane and turkeys are so large they can no longer breed), Singer does a good job highlighting the horrible living conditions of turkeys in the United States (contrasted with the European Union, which has more regulations to ensure animal welfare particularly in cases where many turkeys need to be euthanized due to avian flu outbreaks). It was surprising to learn about how many manufacturers in the U.S. handle these cases-put the turkeys in a large room, block ventilation, and heat the room to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit for 3+ hours to induce suffocation and heat stroke. In addition, Singer presents a moral argument that we should be striving for the most pleasure and least pain for all living things (including non-human sentient beings like turkeys). He promotes the view that even if you don't view a turkey as equivalent to a human there isn't a strong case to be made for treating dogs/cats/household pets one way and turkeys another. This is supported by other philosophers who have made the case that (1) might is right is flawed and (2) we shouldn't be making these decisions based on intellectual capacity because most would not advocate treating humans who are very young, very old, or have an intellectual disability inhumanely just because of their current intellectual capacities. Overall, I really liked this book and would recommend it.

[Raj Das · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliantly argued and compassionate book. It’s extremely persuasive while never being preachy; it states the facts about the treatment of farmed turkeys without rhetorical embellishment, which only emphasizes the cruelty.

The thought experiment at the end, which asks us to imaginatively replace turkeys with dogs as we consider their place in our culture, was highly affecting.

To lighten the mood, there’s an extremely charming set of “Recipes for Ethical Feasting” at the end of the book. Reading them made my stomach growl, especially the mushroom-based gravy recipe. (I absolutely LOVE mushrooms.)

I’m really impressed with this book; I’m so glad they put it near the checkout aisle at Book Culture, like candy at a grocery store. I want to read more Peter Singer asap.

P.S. It was especially poignant to read this book while the avian flu epidemic grows more and more severe. Just this morning I read a New York Times article attributing the rising cost of eggs to the sheer number of chickens being “culled” because of H5N1 infections. Learning, from this book, exactly how they were massacred makes me want to stop eating chicken (one of my favorite foods) altogether.

[Malinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a total fail for me. It is an emotional appeal to Americans to stop eating commercially farmed turkey on the basis of animal abuse. While I completely agree that commercial farms are unethical and animal abuse is morally wrong, I opine that a long, sentimental description of animal suffering isn't doing anything to fix those problems. Singer fails to address the unfettered capitalism that allows these systems to continue. When he references countries with better practices than the United States, he fails to note fundamental differences in governmental systems and cultural beliefs that account for those differences. He offers miniscule amounts of objective science to support his positions and relies on emotional language rather than logical persuasion. I don't think this book serves any purpose except to make people who already agree with Singer feel even better about their choices.

[Christine Whittington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suspect that most people who read Peter Singer's short book about Thanksgiving turkeys will already be among the converted--to not eating animals, that is. Why would they read it otherwise, unless a friend or family member insisted? However, even vegans and vegetarians don't know the details of factory farming turkeys and other animals. Singer's book will enlighten the already-converted about the gruesome details so that you can share them with your dining partners. There is no doubt that it is an evil business. It is a business in which humans make piles of money at the expense of the suffering of other sentient beings. Singer includes asides about the annual presidential pardon of a Thanksgiving turkey (or two) and a congenial pet turkey named Cornelius.

My guess is that the carnivores encouraged (or forced) to read this book by a friend or family member will complete the assigned reading and then say, "Well, yes, but they are so delicious."

[Kate Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book contains all the important reasons for not eating a turkey, or other animal, for a holiday dinner this year (or anytime). It goes into detail about the cruel treatment, from hatching to slaughter, of 99% of all turkeys on America's tables. And makes clear another thing that many shoppers and diners do not know: that turkeys have been bred to have such a large white-meat breast that they cannot mate and must be artifically inseminated, many birds at high speed, with complete disregard for their comfort. And as for their slaughter, many of the birds are fully conscious when dismembered.
Singer feels that if it were better known how these birds are treated, people would choose other foods and thus cause a lot fewer turkeys and other animals to be raised and killed.

[Urszula · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great essay from Singer that focuses on factory-farmed turkeys. It shows that the long-time tradition of eating turkeys at Thanksgiving supports an industry that causes immense suffering to animals - from extremely brutal inseminations that start their lives through miserable life conditions, ending with painful deaths. The argument is simple - knowing those conditions and thinking the same could be done to dogs - would you support those practices with your taxes, with your purchases, and with your festive dinners? I loved that the book has recipes at the end, I'll be definitely doing some of them soon!

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read describing the US Turkey industry, with the ultimate goal of highlighting how it is unethical and that the reader should probably not support the industry's practices. I appreciated Singer's concise telling of the facts (I read this book in two short sittings), which included some history on turkey consumption, and the life cycle of a turkey at one of these "farms". I thought the chapter of turkey-less recipes for Thanksgiving was a nice addition. Because this book is so short, it is perfect for sharing with someone who may not have the motivation to get through something like Animal Liberation Now. Overall, would recommend this book.

[Daniel LeSaint · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You (now) have a way to fill those awkward silences that can occur around the Thanksgiving table. Just ask the family and friends gathered together if they know how the bird they are eating was conceived. If they don't, enlighten them. Then ask them whether ensuring that everyone can get a generous slice of turkey breast is worth breeding a misshapen bird who cannot mate, requiring poorly paid workers to spend all day masturbating male turkeys and pushing open the vaginas of female turkeys, who hate the procedure, but have no escape from it until they are sent off to be killed.”

[Lizzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cash grabby, short essay turned book. I agree with many points but this is typical emotional vegan rhetoric with appeals to anecdote and cherry-picking. Would be a lot stronger with better data and more philosophy. You can read this kind of writing but many vegan authors so was hoping from more from this particular author. I totally agree with a lot of views here but go into more detail on culture and sociopolitical and economic context. WHY is it like this? What are easily accessible ways the average American can adapt? Why not focus more on the very real human suffering?

[Eli Sugerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this before Thanksgiving.

It’s incredibly short, but forces us to confront the reality that our diets often conflict with our own moral values—something most of us find far easier to ignore.

By focusing on the turkey, eaten just once a year by many, Peter Singer makes the case in a way that’s more approachable and less threatening. It’s an uncomfortable but single-sitting read—short enough that it’s hard to keep ignoring the issue.

[kglibrarian (Karin Greenberg) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like preaching to the choir for me--as a vegan I've known about the horrible factory farming industry for years. It's never easy reading the facts about the torture these innocent animals are forced to endure. I only wish books like these would help educate those who refuse to believe the reality of the meat industry. I'm grateful to Peter Singer and all the others who tirelessly work for the animals.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Considera el gall d'indi" m'ha horroritzat de la millor manera possible. Em sembla que aquest llibre és absolutament necessari, no tan sols per explicar de cap a peus el procés pel que passen els galls d'indi —el patiment al qual estan sotmesos d'ençà que neixen, i la crueltat amb la qual els maten—, a més ofereix dades precises d'estudis, raonaments de pes i, compte, RECEPTES per viure sense causar patiment durant celebracions familiars.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Singer wants you to stop eating turkey for Thanksgiving dinner—and the rest of the year. To do that, he gives a brutal account of the turkey raising / slaughtering business in the United States. It’s gruesome, but it’s also rather impersonal. I think the book would have been much more effective if we had started with information about the turkey itself and built some greater interest in and empathy for the birds.

[Luciano Elementi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, yet documenting our speciesism disgrace. It is a rebuke of a macabre US industry that does not allow sunlight into their doing. The time has come to open our eyes collectively and seek alternatives that can make us proud instead: our lives are short too. Peter is gentle and clear in his language, through all the lines we see his heart aiming solely to ease our pain, a beautiful job

[Lance Cahill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t think Singer would regard my choice of ham over turkey as any more morally creditable. It’s typical Singer fare: a powerful but bowdlerizing argument within the utilitarian frame. If you operate from a different framework, it is not altogether persuasive, unless, of course, one has a stunning degree of ignorance about modern agribusiness practices.”

[Ginger MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gobble up this book!

Singer sheds new light on that meal, the carcass on your holiday table deserving room in your annual prayer. The only fate worse than being a turkey in a processing plant is being the worker who daily witnesses the abuse

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A convincing argument to consider the turkey

It's not only well reasoned, but well written too. The structure takes you through the development stages of a turkey's life in industrial captivity. Its life is a nightmare.

[Robert Terrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

He makes excellent points. I'm not sure what I will do with it yet though.