Nicholas Kristof: Consider Skipping Meat This Thanksgiving

Listen to and follow ‘The Opinions’
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube | iHeartRadio

It’s Thanksgiving week, and the columnist Nicholas Kristof wants you to consider skipping the turkey. “I don’t want to wag my fingers at people and tell them, ‘Look, this is how you should eat,’ but I do think that there are really important ethical questions that we have to ponder and confront,” he says. In this episode, Kristof argues that Americans, who spend thousands of dollars each year caring for their dogs, should spare a thought for the pigs who live short lives in brutal conditions before ending up on breakfast plates.

(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)

Credit…Illustration by The New York Times; photograph by Oliver Helbig/Getty

Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Mixing by Sonia Herrero. Original music byPat McCusker, Carole Sabouraud, Isaac Jones. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, X and Threads.