Dear John,

In the United States, an estimated 40 million turkeys are killed each year for Thanksgiving alone.

Many people never think about where these birds come from before they’re stuffed and plated for our Thanksgiving dinners. Our shocking footage reveals their hidden suffering.

Our investigator documented horrific cruelty over the life cycle of turkeys at two farms in Minnesota, the largest turkey-producing state. Undercover footage shows turkeys crammed by the thousands in windowless warehouses.

Death was inescapable. The investigator witnessed turkeys trapped in electrical wires, seeming to die by electrocution. Baby turkeys were left in piles, some living trapped under the dead, resulting in respiratory distress and fatalities.

The investigator reported severely injured and dying birds—one turkey was featherless and shivering with open wounds—to the manager, who took no immediate action.

This investigation undeniably shows the grim, unnatural life cycle of turkeys forced into the meat industry. These birds are brutally handled in factory farms from hatching to slaughter. They never know the love of their mothers or feel sunlight on their backs or grass beneath their feet.

It is up to each of us to reject this cruel and unsustainable food system. One of the best ways to help turkeys and other farmed animals is to leave them off your plate.