FROM ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE
TITLE:
More Than a Meal:
The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality
AUTHOR:
Karen Davis, Ph.D.
Email: karen@upc-online.org
PUBLISHER:
Lantern Books
One Union Square West, Suite 201
New York, New York 10003-3303
Tel: 212-414-2275
Fax: 212-414-2412
Email: Martin Rowe at Martin@BookLightInc.com
ISBN #:
1-930051-88-3
RETAIL PRICE:
$20.00 U.S.A.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
This scholarly and authoritative book examines the cultural and
literal history, as well as the natural history and biological needs
and concerns of turkeys. Davis explores how turkeys came to be seen
as birds who were not only the epitome of failure or stupidity but
also the suitable centerpiece of the celebration of freedom in America
itself—Thanksgiving. She examines the many varieties of turkeys
and uncovers the methods by which millions of turkeys are raised,
fattened, and slaughtered on farms around America today.
Davis takes us back to European folklore about turkeys, the myths,
fairy tales, and downright lies told about turkeys and their habits
and habitats. She shows how turkeys in the wild have complex lives
and family units, and how they were an integral part of Native American
and continental cultures and landscape before the Europeans arrived.
Finally, Davis draws conclusions about our paradoxical, complex,
and “bestial” relationship not just with turkeys, but
with all birds, and thus with all other animals. She examines how
our treatment of animals shapes our other values about ourselves,
our relationship with other human beings, and our attitude toward
the land, nation, and the world.
"Karen Davis shines a new light on the unfortunate, much-maligned
bird that is the center of America's Thanksgiving ritual, and thereby
illuminates the lies and hypocrisy that surround our eating habits
and our attitudes to animals. More Than a Meal challenges all Americans
to think about the values they want their annual family ritual to
embody."
~ Peter Singer, DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University;
author, Animal Liberation
"I very much like this book for its sensitivity, its well-researched
cultural history, its honesty and probing qualities."
~ Gisela Kaplan, Full Professor, School of Biological Sciences,
University of New England, Armidale, Australia
"In a very scholarly way, Karen Davis explores the unnatural
history of the turkey. Where did the bird come from? How was it
treated by Native Americans? What place did the turkey have in their
mythology? Why is the turkey called 'turkey'? (And who would have
guessed there could be so many compelling theories!?) What happened
between the turkey being taken to Europe and then reintroduced to
North America? How did the bird become so despised in Western society?
All these questions and many more are dealt with in a serious but
engaging way."
~ Ian J. H. Duncan, Professor of Poultry Ethology, Chair in Animal
Welfare, University of Guelph, Ontario
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Karen Davis, Ph.D. is the President of United Poultry Concerns.
She is the author of Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside
Look at the Modern Poultry Industry. She lives in Machipongo, Virginia.
Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights Online, President
P O Box 7053
Tampa, Fl 33673-7053
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1395/
| 
United Poultry Concerns, Inc.