Sue Lani Madsen: I beg your pardon, but Wishbone and Drumstick would have been a fine feast

A 70-year-old Thanksgiving tradition needs disruption. The pair of turkeys presented by the National Turkey Federation could have provided meat for the White House table, but alas, President Trump pardoned Wishbone and Drumstick last Tuesday.

The last two presidents to eat the turkeys were Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. They were practical Midwest farm kids who recognized tasty protein when it gobbled at them.

Subsequent presidents have politely taken the photo op and declined the opportunity. According to whitehouse.gov, it was George H.W. Bush who started the tradition of a formal executive pardon. It would have been more sensible to donate the birds to the nearest food bank.

A spokesman for the National Turkey Federation confirmed the first turkey to be named was Charlie, presented to Ronald Reagan in 1987. Anthropomorphizing livestock is a problem when they are headed for the table. Every Thanksgiving, Bill Ward, of Reardan, retells the story of Tom the Turkey. Bill was 6 years old. His father won a live turkey in a golf tournament, a valuable prize for a man raising a large family on a tight budget in 1960s Sacramento. Young Bill visited his new friend Tom in the backyard every day after school. And then one day just before Thanksgiving, Tom wasn’t there. Bill said, “My mother gently tried to explain Tom’s destiny. I know I said horrible things to her. Still think about Tom every November.”

But Bill still eats turkey for Thanksgiving, an omnivore like most Americans. A 2016 Harris poll commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group puts the number of self-identified vegetarians and vegans at 3.3 percent, although other researchers put the number at 0.1 percent based on what people actually report eating. A little fish here, a little chicken there, an occasional slice of pepperoni pizza – because pepperoni must grow on a pepper plant, right?

An increasingly urban population is at risk of becoming disconnected from the source of food. A pet peeve for thoughtful vegetarians are people who think meat comes from the grocery store wrapped in plastic, and don’t think any further. For those who raise the poultry, fish and mammals to feed us, the connection is clear.

Remaking that connection has been a nonpartisan effort by regional coalitions of urban food enthusiasts and farmers. At its root is one of the less famous Paris agreements, the international Slow Food manifesto signed by 15 countries in 1989. Farmers markets and community gardens have re-sprouted. Farmers cooperatives like LINC Foods in Spokane have grown to connect farmers and consumers. And for the do-it-yourselfer, domestic livestock have returned to urban areas.

The city of Spokane ordinance allowing both large and small domestic animals on city lots has been in place for more than three years. Nancy Hill of Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service said there have been a few calls for geese, goats, ducks or chickens on the loose, but they’ve generally been rounded up without incident. Occasionally neighbors complain about a noisy rooster. There were 32 service calls in 2015.

“It’s not a huge number given the number of households in the city. Overall SCRAPS has handled about 12,000 calls through October this year,” Hill said.

Raising backyard chickens for eggs and meat used to be common, but like Tom the Turkey, naming the birds has always been a challenge when there are children in the family. During World War II, Fran Wicht recalled neighbors in north Spokane who solved the problem by naming their hens Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo.

Modern farm and ranch families either don’t name the livestock, or give them eponymous names. Hauling feed and water for Hamburger and Pork Chop is a daily reminder of the circle of life. Although not all farmers and ranchers participate in third-party certification like Animal Welfare Approved, the good guys understand their responsibility in the symbiotic connection between humans and our domesticated livestock.

If you’re ambitious, you can raise your own Wishbone and Drumstick for Thanksgiving 2018. Or build a relationship with a farmer raising fresh local turkey. Or just appreciate all those who labor unknown and unnamed to make sure you have food on your table.