Dont hurt the soys feelings this Thanksgiving
President Obama stood in front of Mac and Cheese and enacted his yearly pardon on Wednesday; thats right Mac and Cheese isnt a pasta dish,…
It might not move or have any feelings but Seattle Mayor Ed Murray decided to pardon a tofu turkey for this year’s Thanksgiving. (AP Photo/ Seattle Mayor’s Office)
President Obama stood in front of Mac and Cheese and enacted his yearly pardon on Wednesday; thats right Mac and Cheese isnt a pasta dish, but rather the name of two turkeys brought before him for pardoning. However, if you think inanimate objects cant be pardoned, think again, because the mayor of Seattle challenged that notion by pardoning a Tofurky this year.
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Its a presidential tradition for the commander in chief to pardon a turkey on Thanksgiving Eve in the United States, and this year President Obama pardoned Cheese out of the feathered duo, but that was only Obama following the protocol because both turkeys’ lives will be spared.
The mayor of Seattle is doing the same thing this year making any vegetarian proudor would it?
Mayor Ed Murray pardoned a soybean-based preparation meant to vaguely resemble a turkey breast with stuffing, sold under the popular brand-name Tofurky.
At two feet tall and about 38 pounds, two full-grown Broad Breasted White domesticated turkeys, named “Mac” and “Cheese” are paraded before members of the news media. Even though only Cheese was pardoned by President Obama, both will be spared. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The pardoning happened last week, and according to The Seattle Times was meant to call attention to hunger in the community.
The mayor has a sense of humor, spokesperson Jason Kelly told the Times. He wanted to do something that would attract attention.
Kelly also clarified that the media stunt wasnt in support of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The organization has petitioned the president to get rid of the turkey pardon at the White House, because it keeps supporting the poultry industry.
Where will the Tofurky go you ask? Well its not going to live in the same Virginia farm where Mac and Cheese will reside–happily gobbling their way around the field. It wont even live a life of luxury inside a refrigerator, its clammy texture glistening each time the door light turns on.
Nope.
Its only going to live out its natural life (whatever that means) at the Rainier Valley Food Bank, according to what Mayor Kelly told the newspaper.
He wants to encourage everyone to donate to local food banks as an overwhelming number of them are oversubscribed with beneficiaries.
Kelly acknowledged that Seattle’s reputation in the rest of the country is “a little bit ‘granola’” and that Murray was poking fun at himself.
As for the real turkeys that made it to the White House, they’ll be permanently residing at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia, but they have some touring to do.
“Before that, Disney World. And before that, Disney Land,” Keith Williams, a spokesperson for the National Turkey Federation told ABC News. “And about maybe 10 or 20 years ago, they went to a petting zoo in the area.”
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Sounds like these real turkeys have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
