Every Thanksgiving, millions of Americans get together with family and friends to celebrate the season and give thanks for all the blessings in their lives. For many, a highlight of the holiday is eating traditional Thanksgiving foods like green beans and sweet potatoes and a big, fat turkey, which is usually carved and served with stuffing and lots of rich gravy.
每年感恩节，数百万美国人与亲友欢聚一堂，共度佳节，感谢生活中的恩典。对于很多人而言，节日的重头戏就是食用感恩节的传统食物，包括：青豆角、甜土豆和一只又大又肥嫩的火鸡。人们通常会将馅料填到火鸡肚子里整只烤制，而后将火鸡肉切成薄片，浇上丰富的卤汁食用。
But here at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, in Poolesville, Maryland, the turkeys are not cooked and consumed, but cared for and celebrated. And for the past 18 years, visitors have been enjoying a special pre-Thanksgiving picnic where they get to eat with the turkeys. It’s a popular community event, organized by Sanctuary co-founder Terry Cummings and her team.
但是，在美国马里兰州普尔斯维尔的春杨动物救助中心，人们非但不烹调食用火鸡，反而对火鸡关照有加，极力颂扬。在过去的18年中，游客们会在感恩节之前进行一次特殊的野餐，即跟火鸡一起共进午餐。这项社区活动由动物救助中心的合作创立者特里·卡明斯和她的团队组织，并受到大家的欢迎。

"We love having this event because it's a great way for people to come out and celebrate a cruelty-free Thanksgiving, which so many people don't get a chance to do with their families. "It's also a chance to educate people about turkeys. "We wanted to show people that they all have personalities, that they're all wonderful. They’re just like a cat or a dog; they're just like a companion animal. And we wanted to show that by having a vegan potluck you can have delicious food without eating animals."
"我们举办这次活动，乐在其中，这称得上一种绝佳的方式，来帮助人们走出家门庆祝一次零残忍的感恩节，要知道，很多人缺少这样与家人互动的机会。"同时，这也有助于加深人们对火鸡的认识。"我们想要告诉人们火鸡也有自己的性格，并且令人感到愉快，就像可爱的小猫小狗一样，火鸡也是我们生活的小伙伴。通过这次纯素食的聚餐，我们想向人们传达的理念是：不吃肉食，人们同样可以享受到美味。"
"What do you have there?" "Broccoli salad, pasta salad, bean salad, it's so good!"
"你现在吃的是什么呢？""有西兰花沙拉，意面沙拉，豆类沙拉，味道真的很棒！"
As visitors enjoyed the meat- and dairy-free picnic, some shared the reasons why they were drawn to the event. "I’m here to support the sanctuary and enjoy great vegan food and mingle with like-minded people." "This is a really great reminder of where the food that's on my plate is coming from and to be more mindful about what I'm eating." "I think having it at a sanctuary is just perfect because that's one of the biggest ideas behind being vegan is just compassion for all living creatures." "I really like that we get to be around the turkeys and see them living and how adorable they are."
正当人们享用没有肉类和奶制品的野餐时，其中一些人表达了自己来参加这次活动的原因。"我来是为了支持动物救助中心，享用美味的素食，结识一些志同道合的人。""这让我清楚地认识到，我餐盘上食物的来源，也对自己的饮食更加留心。""我认为在动物救助中心举办这次聚餐是非常棒的一个想法，其中蕴含着大道理：素食主义者对所有的生物都抱有一视同仁的悲悯情怀。""我喜欢看到火鸡围绕在我们四周，它们是那么地活泼可爱。"
The 174-hectare refuge is also home to about 200 other abused and abandoned farm animals, (Oh, my goodness. Look at it) including goats, geese and lots and lots of pigs. The friendly porkers were a huge hit with visitors, who enjoyed petting them and tossing them pumpkins as a special treat.
这个动物救护中心面积约有174公顷，同时这里居住着约200种其他的农场动物，这些动物有的曾遭虐待，有的曾被遗弃，（天啊，看它多可爱！）主要包括：山羊、鹅还有不计其数的猪。肉猪憨头憨脑，因而深受游客们喜爱，人们不断地抚摸小猪，并向它们投掷喂食南瓜作为特殊款待。
Cummings hopes that after their experience at the sanctuary, visitors who are not already vegan will be inspired to think about starting a new tradition of mindful, cruelty-free living.
卡明斯表示，希望通过这次在动物救护中心的经历，促使那些非素食主义者们能够有所思考，进而开始注意并养成一种全新的不吃肉食的生活方式。