When I see vegan food sold in single-use plastic containers, I get frustrated knowing that plastic is not really recycled; it is down-cycled to less and less reusable grades, and too much of it eventually ends up in the ocean - where it kills animals. Caring for animals means caring for the environment they live in, and vice versa.

Seriously, many people have told me they can't eat turkeys anymore after getting to know them. I think in the wider world, when the stories air on the media, they help banish the idea that birds, other than parrots, are somehow lesser.

I am all too human, I don't always do the right thing, so how can I expect others to perform perfectly on the issues that are my top priority?

Some of us seem to be born with a drive to try to make the world kinder.

I try to meet people where they are.

I met my first turkey at an animal sanctuary in 2000. The sanctuary owner brought out a turkey named Olivia who had been rescued from a factory farm. As I sat on the grass and reached out to pet her, she climbed into my lap and fell asleep. I was flabbergasted and charmed.

It is important to meet people where they are. It reminds me of yoga, to which people may flock for the physical benefits, often to find that the spiritual benefits match or even outweigh them.