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MONDAY December 8, 2003 - Subscribe - Contact Us Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels November 18, 2003 Consider skipping turkey this year; join some poultry in a vegan feast Your Thanksgiving turkey will go through a living Hell to get to your plate. Genetically manipulated for large breasts, the toms are too big to mount the hens, so artificial insemination is used. Even standing is difficult. The snood is a fleshy appendage located where you'd find a chicken's comb. It is removed from day-old poults by squeezing and twisting as one would a strawberry stem. On older birds, scissors are used. They also endure toe clipping and debeaking. No anesthetic is given for these painful procedures. Turkey manure produces toxic levels of ammonia in the indoor facilities where the birds are raised, which burns their eyes and injures their respiratory tracts. When it's time to go to slaughter, many are injured by rough handling by turkey catchers who cram them into crates for transport. At the slaughterhouse, the pain of their injuries is intensified by being hung upside down. Many are inadequately stunned before their throats are cut. Poultry are excluded from protection by the Humane Slaughter Act, which isn't enforced anyway. Conditions for organic or "free-range" birds are not necessarily better. Organic standards have no humane provisions, and "free range" is defined by each producer. Consider an alternative on Thanksgiving Day from noon to 3 p.m. at MeadowBrook Farm in Talent, where live rescued turkeys will be the guests of honor. It's Sponsored by the non-profit Southern Oregon Animal Rights Society and Farm Sanctuary. For $15 you'll get an incredible vegan feast. Call 941-9959 for reservations. Ron Elterman Ashland Global warming continues to be addressed at Ashland events The recent Global Warming forum sponsored by the Ashland Congregational United Church of Christ and co-sponsored by the Oregon Interfaith Global Warming Campaign featured two award-winning scientists presenting somewhat differing opinions based on "data" vs. "theory" and answered questions to satisfy an audience of well over forty community folks. We wish to thank Dr. Greg Jones of SOU, Dr. Ron Neilson of USDA Forest Service and OSU, and Rev. Caren Caldwell, the dozen church members in their supportive roles, and three local businesses - Eco Teas, Alex's and Printfast - that helped make this education on earth stewardship possible. Even Congress is in the process of learning the possible long-term effects of continuing our status quo. Now we know that personal commitment CAN make a difference for our grandchildren and, like following the Atkins program, I find it more fun when I meet so many others doing it too! A followup discussion is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, at 717 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, to review with the 8-min. video GENERATION TO GENERATION; hear an example of the City of Ashland's energy/water audit of a "public use" building; discuss personal application of a 1-2-3 program; and consider boosting Ashland into the ranks of 140 other cities and counties nationwide in the Cities for Climate Protection campaign. Jeanene O'Brien Ashland Thanks to the community for supporting boys' basketball team Once again our community has enthusiastically supported a youth activity. The boys of Ashland's 8th grade AAU basketball team extend their thanks to all the folks who made the team's recent car wash an enormous success. The team sold 621 tickets prior to the day of the car wash, where they washed 150 cars. In addition, numerous generous donations were made to help support the team. The AAU season begins Dec. 19 with a tournament in Medford. Regular season games will be played on Saturdays beginning in January, concluding in March. As the team looks forward to another successful season, they sincerely thank all those who helped to support this youth basketball activity. On behalf of the 8th grade boys' basketball team and their parents, JoAnn Houghton Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Road Cams