Written by Zoe, a PETA Donor

During this time of year, I cringe when I think about the plight of the turkeys, slaughtered for holiday dinners.

A few weeks before the holiday season began, I learned about a PETA investigation that led to 141 charges of cruelty to animals against 12 former Plainville Farms workers, including six felonies—the most charges and defendants in any case of cruelty to factory-farmed animals in U.S. history. 

I immediately put my holiday preparations aside and leapt into action—never mind that the search for my favorite cornbread mix could be jeopardized. First, I identified the 10 supermarket chains with the highest sales in Manhattan (a simple Google search). Then, I drafted a letter urging them not to carry Plainville Farms turkeys (the fun part). And finally, I recruited my friend Elaine, a fellow PETA supporter, to help me locate and contact decisionmakers.

A week or so after our campaign wrapped up, I received a handwritten note from John Catsimatidis, the Fortune 400 supermarket magnate and owner of Gristedes Supermarkets. He wrote to assure me that his supermarket chain doesn’t carry Plainville Farms turkeys.

Elaine and I will never know the full extent of the difference we made, but we are confident that our letters were opened, our e-mails were at least skimmed, and the horrific abuse of turkeys at Plainville Farms got more attention. 

This was definitely a Thanksgiving to be thankful for. PETA and Mr. Catsimatidis will be remembered at our Thanksgiving table for many years to come.

By the way, it turned out that Gristedes carries lots of ingredients to make our favorite “ThanksVegan” dishes!